You can reach me at me@david-may.de. Find me on GitHub and X.
ATLAS Elektronik & Unmanned Underwater Systems
I've spent over six years at TKMS ATLAS Elektronik in Wedel, working on autonomous underwater vehicles. I joined in 2019 as a dual student in the Vehicle Software department, where I learned the demands of safety-critical, hardware-near software development for unmanned underwater systems.
In 2024 I became a software development engineer in the Unmanned Systems department, responsible for specifying, implementing, and verifying hardware-near software units in close collaboration with the systems and hardware engineering teams.
Over the years my interest gravitated towards firmware, FPGA, and electronics development, so in May 2025 I moved internally to the Vehicle Electronics department. There I introduced modern software development techniques like modularization, simulation environments and CI/CD to firmware and FPGA development, led the modernization of our assemblies to ARM-based microcontrollers, and contributed to safety-critical firmware development.
IoT & Early Career
Before diving into underwater systems, I worked as a software developer at igus in Cologne from 2018 to 2019. In their smart plastics department, I developed IoT products for predicting wear on energy chains and plain bearings. This was my first professional experience in software engineering.
Even earlier, in the summer of 2017, I completed an internship at Forschungszentrum Jülich at the Institute for Engineering, Electronics and Analytics.
Computer Engineering Graduate
I hold a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering from Fachhochschule Wedel, completed in 2024 as part of a dual study program alongside my work at ATLAS Elektronik. Before that, I earned my Abitur in 2019 from Dietrich-Bonhoeffer-Gymnasium in Bergisch Gladbach.
Award-Winning Thesis
My bachelor's thesis was awarded the Hochschulpreis in the Technology category by the Wedeler Hochschulbund e.V.
Technical Skills
I primarily work in C and C++, with additional experience in Python and the hardware description language VHDL. I develop for real-time operating systems like QNX and MicroC/OS, as well as Linux.
I'm well-versed in modern development tooling, from CMake build systems and GitLab CI/CD pipelines to static analysis, code coverage, and unit testing. I have deep experience in safety-critical development practices, working to industry standards like MISRA, AUTOSAR, and JSSSEH, from requirements traceability and formal verification through to compliant, auditable code.
I speak German natively and English fluently.
Aspiring Ultralight Pilot
I'm currently working towards my ultralight pilot licence. There's something about flying that shares a kinship with engineering: understanding the systems, respecting the constraints, and trusting the process.
Personal Life
I live in Wedel, just outside Hamburg, together with my girlfriend Laura. We've been together for over five years.