Allow me to explain…
The Gap In My Resume
Hi! I’m Jeremy Locatelli.
I’m an embedded software engineer currently looking for full time employment anywhere that has great people building cool things. That’s it! I love building, be it software systems, arcade hardware, musical instruments, or sand castles. If it can be organized and arranged, I’m usually into it!
I’ve been writing software since 2008 when first learned BASIC ( A little late for BASIC, but come on we start weird) and haven’t stopped.
I Got Laid Off!
In January 2023, I was laid off from my role as an Embedded Software Engineer at Anritsu. This was a huge bummer because I loved my job and the people I worked with! The work was challenging but well supported by incredible engineers who took the time to mentor a newly graduated software engineer. In the 3.5 years I worked at Anritsu, I grew a tremendous amount in both my engineering skills and my mindset. I got to work on so many different aspects of engineering in my time there, and I only wish I could have spent even more time building with them. Not everything works as smooth as you’d like it too, even large life changing things. Oh well!
This was the MS2090A that I got to work on for my duration at Anritsu. It’s a beast of a machine, and frankly, I miss it.
No Time To Waste!
That sucked! My job is gone! But no matter, I’m a good engineer, and while my professional work experience was cut short at 3.5 years at a company, surely that won’t affect things too much, I’m still a talented engineer, a go-getter, pep in my step, etc etc etc.
Lets update the resume, start applying, and start getting out there!
Sure are a lot of people getting laid off…
During my first 3 months of unemployment, I got 3 interviews that went past the screening calls and into some form of technical interviews. All ended with “thank you for your time but we are pursuing other candidates…” This would become a very familiar sentence.
I’ve continued to do the normal [ apply->wait->interview->wait->interview->wait-> rejection email ] pipeline since being laid off. In each instance of this process when I’ve asked for feedback, the response has almost always been, “You were great, but we are going with someone with more years of experience.”
I can’t do much about that number on my own, but there’s still plenty I can do!
Onwards and Upwards; Skill Development
The one thing nice about chronic unemployment is the free time. The worst part about chronic unemployment is the free time.
I had plenty of time to go through the full spectrum of emotions Unfair! Uncaring cruel world! Anger! Depression! Hopelessness! and on and on. But once I worked through all that, I saw that anything less than utilizing this time to improve myself and lives of the people around me is a waste.
So what have I been up too, besides applying to jobs and reading rejection emails?
Video games are what got me into computers and programming to begin with. Making a text based adventure game was the first time I ever programmed. Naturally I’ve kept that up! I received my Playdate console in late 2023 and have been developing a rougelike dungeon crawler for it. Learning the hardware and the Lua language has been a ton of fun.
Alongside this personal project I’ve been working on another Playdate game with a small indie studio that a friend invited me into. The work is ongoing but needless to say, its been a blast.
I addition to programming games (and leet code to keep sharp) I’ve been working on learning 3D modeling. I’ve been using Blender to make renders and simulation videos as a hobby for a long time, but never really understood the program or the fundamentals of 3D modeling and asset creation. I’ve been drinking deep learning how to create 3D models, materials and renders for about a year now.
The other renders on the site are all created by me as well.
Things I’ve Gone and Done
I still have gotten some work! Phew. A friend from college helped me in securing a small contract position designing a new subsystem for their embedded control devices. Their devices are used in the transport and agriculture industries. The work involved working with different members of the their teams, talking to some end users about how they would be using this new system, and creating UML and sequence diagrams for the new subsystem.
It was great to use my skills again for a paid gig, and a nice reminder of why I still enjoy the work.
This gig is the only one I can publicly speak about, but I have worked on other projects that are either NDA or I don’t have permission to disclose in this medium. If you’d like to know more, please contact me!
Of course skill development is great, but I’ve still continued to focus on my hobbies as well. I’m a music producer and multi-instrumentalist, and have been spending more time in my home studio making fun sounds while learning (virtual) modular synthesis.
I’ve also started practicing Aikubudo recently! Learning a martial art and focusing on the mind-body connection has really helped center myself in a period of stress and chaos. Things have been difficult, but I’ve never been one to throw my hands up and give up.
I’ve also been getting a good handle on Figma!
Procedural mud and water texture created in Blender 4.0
