ZSZaid Saifan
Résumé
Open to 12–16 month co-op · May 2027

Hi, I'm

Zaid Saifan

> Electrical Engineering @ Western

I design power distribution boards, wire and debug robots, and write the control code that makes them move. Recently that has meant an autonomous golf cart, a 1/10-scale race car and building electrical design work in industry.

See my projects Résumé
London, Ontario B.E.Sc. Electrical, Western ’29
Altium PCB layout of the custom Arduino shield for the hospital delivery robot
TitleDelivery robot shield
ToolAltium Designer
DrawnZ. Saifan
RevA · 1 of 1
81.3%Year 2 average · Dean's Honor List 2025–26
15–20 Apower board co-designed for an autonomous golf cart
140 hbuilding electrical design internship, Amman
6documented hardware projects

01What I do

Hardware that works on the bench and in the field.

From copper pours to control loops, I like owning the whole path: the schematic, the board, the wiring harness and the firmware that ties it together.

Power & PCB design

Power distribution boards in Altium Designer: IPC-2221 trace sizing, 2 oz copper, via stitching, fused branches and isolated logic rails.

  • Altium
  • IPC-2221
  • Power rails

Controls & robotics

PWM throttle control through high-current ESCs, an electronic differential, and LiDAR + IMU integration for real-time SLAM.

  • PWM
  • Arduino C++
  • ROS

Building electrical design

Load calculations, cable sizing and voltage drop, plus AutoCAD and Revit drawing sets from my internship at Epsilon Engineers & Architects.

  • AutoCAD
  • Revit
  • Load calcs

02Selected work

Projects

Each project has a full write-up with the design decisions, specs and results. Start with the delivery robot for the most complete build.

The assembled hospital delivery robot with its custom PCB shield and RFID-locked cargo boxFeatured

Western University · Team design project

Hospital Autonomous Secure Delivery Robot

Custom Altium PCB shield that ties 5 sensors and 4 actuator systems into one Arduino control loop, with an RFID-locked cargo box and a 20 cm obstacle stop.

45 minruntime100%tests passed< 20 cmobstacle stop
  • Altium Designer
  • Arduino C++
  • PCB assembly
  • RFID
  • Power rails
Read the write-up
3D render of the golf cart power distribution board in AltiumCurrent

Western Engineering AutoPilot · Oct 2025 – present

Autonomous Golf Cart: Power Distribution & Throttle Control

PWM throttle control through a high-current ESC, and a 2-layer, 2 oz copper power distribution board that carries 15–20 A from a 24 V LiFePO₄ pack.

15–20 Acontinuous3power tiers2 ozcopper
  • Altium Designer
  • PWM
  • ESC
  • IPC-2221
Read the write-up
Batterydrive packCustom PDBAltium Designerprotected actuator railsVESCmotor controllerSteering servoshigh torqueisolated logic railOnboard computerSLAM2D LiDARIMU

Dr. Zaki Research Lab · Sep 2026 – present

Roboracer 1/10-Scale Autonomous Race Car

Custom Altium power board that isolates the VESC and steering-servo rails from noise-sensitive logic, plus 2D LiDAR and IMU integration for real-time SLAM.

  • Altium Designer
  • LiDAR
  • IMU
  • SLAM
  • ROS
Read the write-up
The finished wireless RC car with its printed front wing, rear wing and red-rimmed wheels▶ Video

Western Engineering AutoPilot

Wireless RC Car with Electronic Differential

Electronic differential on two independent rear motors, servo steering, Arduino C++ firmware for wireless PS5 input, and a SolidWorks chassis.

  • Arduino C++
  • Python
  • SolidWorks
  • L298N
  • PWM
Read the write-up
OscillatorTL082 coreIntegratorsquare → triangleShapertriangle → sineSquareTriangleSine4.4 kHz · 10 V

Western University · Electronic circuits

Analog Function Generator and PCB

TL082 op-amp generator producing square, triangle and sine waves at 4.4 kHz and 10 V, simulated in Micro-Cap and built on an Altium PCB.

  • Micro-Cap
  • Altium Designer
  • Op-amps
  • Oscilloscope
Read the write-up
S0000S1001S2011S3010S4110S5111S6101S7100one bit flipsper transitionGATE INPUT COSTBinary · 83Gray · 63−24%same behaviour, less hardware

Western University · Digital logic

FPGA Sequence Detector and Logic Optimization

8-state Moore FSM in Quartus Prime. A custom Gray-code state assignment and Karnaugh-map simplification cut gate input cost from 83 to 63.

  • Quartus Prime
  • FPGA
  • Moore FSM
  • K-maps
Read the write-up

03Where I've worked

Experience

Sep 2026 – PresentCurrent

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Dr. Zaki Research Lab, Western University

Roboracer Autonomous Race Car · 1/10-scale autonomous vehicle platform

  • Routed a custom power distribution board in Altium Designer, isolating protected rails for the VESC motor controller and high-torque steering servos from noise-sensitive logic circuits.
  • Interfaced the onboard computer with a 2D LiDAR and IMU for real-time SLAM, and 3D-printed Onshape-modelled sensor mounts and enclosures to lower the car's centre of gravity.

Clearpath Husky UGV · outdoor mapping research robot

  • Helping a PhD researcher wire and modify the robot's electrical hardware, making power and sensor connections and checking them against the platform's wiring before field testing.
Jun 2026 – Jul 2026

Electrical Engineering Intern

Epsilon Engineers & Architects · Amman, Jordan

  • Performed load calculations, cable sizing and voltage-drop checks across 3–5 active projects over 140 hours, checking results against design criteria with senior engineers before single-line diagrams were issued.
  • Drafted and revised 10+ electrical drawing sheets (power and lighting layouts, panel schedules) in AutoCAD and Revit, closing out engineer redlines to firm standards and local code.
  • Routed conduit and cable tray in the Revit BIM model around HVAC and structural elements, resolving clashes with mechanical engineers and architects before construction.
  • Assisted with low-voltage system layouts and prepared bills of quantities for electrical materials.
Oct 2025 – PresentCurrent

Build Team Member, Throttle & Motor Control

Western Engineering AutoPilot

  • Built and bench-tested a PWM-based throttle control system that automates acceleration on a full-scale autonomous golf cart, interfacing a microcontroller with a high-current ESC for repeatable speed regulation.
  • Contributed to a 2-layer power distribution board in Altium Designer, applying trace-width calculations, 2 oz copper and via stitching to carry 15–20 A to the drive and sensing systems within voltage and thermal margins.
  • Built a wireless RC car with servo steering and an electronic differential on two independent rear motors.

04Education & toolkit

Skills

Western University

Bachelor of Engineering Science · Electrical Engineering

81.3%Year 2 avg
76.3%Cumulative
Expected
April 2029
Location
London, ON
Availability
12–16 month co-op from May 2027
Dean's Honor List 2025–26

Coursework

  • Control Systems
  • Power Systems
  • Electric Machines
  • Electronic Circuits
  • Signal Processing
  • Digital Logic & Microprocessors
  • Magnetic Circuits

⚡Power & electrical design

  • Load calculations
  • Cable sizing & voltage drop
  • Single-line diagrams
  • Panel schedules
  • Lighting & power layouts
  • Power distribution boards
  • Trace-width sizing

⚙Controls, robotics & embedded

  • PWM motor control
  • ESCs & servos
  • DC motor drives
  • Microcontrollers
  • LiDAR & IMU
  • RFID & ultrasonic sensors
  • ROS
  • FPGA

◧CAD & EDA

  • Altium Designer
  • AutoCAD
  • Revit
  • SolidWorks
  • Onshape
  • Micro-Cap
  • Quartus Prime
  • 3D printing

</>Programming

  • C/C++
  • Python
  • MATLAB
  • Java
  • Arduino
  • Excel

⌁Build & test

  • Soldering & PCB assembly
  • Wiring & harnessing
  • Oscilloscopes
  • Multimeters
  • Function generators
  • Bench testing
  • Root-cause troubleshooting

05Contact

Let's build something.

I'm looking for 12–16 month co-op and internship terms starting May 2027 in power and electrical design, controls, robotics, embedded systems or hardware test.

Email me LinkedIn