Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Department of the Interior
Electrical Engineering Intern – Power Systems Analysis & Control
May 2026 – Present | Lakewood, CO
Overview
In the Power System Analysis & Control group, I work on the embedded software stack for a digital excitation system that will run in hydropower plants across the western United States. The controller targets an industrial computer running a custom QNX image and it must talk reliably to multifunction DAQ hardware in the field and in the lab.
A core piece of that work is the custom QNX driver I built for the NI PCIe 6353 (and some other boards) so the Target machine can interface with the DAQ path used by the digital exciter. Controller code is compiled and deployed to the target, where resource managers handle I/O, networking, logging, and an embedded Simulink exciter simulation. On top of that stack I designed an HMI client that consumes the live TCP stream, including multiple processes that operators will use once the system is deployed to plants across the West.
Key Contributions
NI PCIe 6353 QNX Driver
Built the QNX RTOS device driver for the NI PCIe 6353 (and the foundation for additional DAQ boards) so the SEL-3355 can exchange I/O with multifunction DAQ hardware through register-level and PCIe memory interfaces.
Digital Exciter Platform
Contribute to digital excitation system controller software that compiles to the SEL-3355 under QNX, including resource managers for TCP, board I/O, logging, and an embedded Simulink exciter harness used for simulation and validation.
HMI Design
Designed the plant HMI as a TCP client to the controller stream, and implemented multiple HMI processes that will ship with the system to western U.S. power plants.
Hardware-in-the-Loop Validation
Support HIL testing for digital controller exciter model validation—exercising the real-time stack against lab hardware before field deployment.
Skills
Experience Photos
Hardware-in-the-loop testing in the lab for digital controller exciter model validation.
Grand Coulee Dam from the top of the third powerhouse.
Smaller generating units at Grand Coulee.
Hoover Dam during the America 250 celebration.
Top deck of the generators on the Arizona side of Hoover Dam.