Engineering where
hardware, systems,
and AI meet.

I'm Patrick Vu, a first-year Automation Systems Engineering Technology student at McMaster University. I build rooted Android tools, contribute upstream to Linux kernels, tune local LLMs on edge hardware, and build practical tools connecting software with real-world hardware.

Explore Work Download Resume GitHub Profile

Selected Projects

Real-world engineering systems across Android, kernel, AI inference, and simulations.

On-Device Intelligence Active Prototype

LifeVOD

Private on-device Android assistant exploring continuous ambient audio capture, semantic local memory retention, and proactive daily task planning without cloud reliance.

  • Low-latency local speech transcription pipeline.
  • Semantic memory graph designed strictly for offline user privacy.
On-Device AI Audio Transcription Android Local Memory
Research & Build In Active Development
Systems / Linux Kernel Merged Upstream

Samsung Exynos 9810 Kernel Contribution

Investigated low-level silicon behavior, isolated driver anomalies, and contributed patch code to the open-source Linux kernel tree powering Exynos 9810 devices.

  • Diagnosed boot synchronization failures on custom kernel trees.
  • Validated and merged into the upstream maintainer repository.
Linux Kernel Exynos SoC Hardware Debugging
Commit: 1d23cb3c View Commit
Game Engine / Systems C++ Architecture

C++ Factory & Logistics Simulation

High-performance 2D tile-based automation game built in C++ with SFML, featuring procedural terrain generation, item routing networks, and deterministic factory loops.

  • 2D map generation with resource systems, textures, and game logic.
  • Modular machinery pipelines (extractors, furnaces, belts).
C++ SFML Procedural Generation Simulation Loop
Engine & Logic
Hardware Optimization Inference Tuning

Local AI on Constrained Hardware

Engineered a self-hosted local LLM inference server on older hardware using llama.cpp and Vulkan GPU acceleration to achieve maximum tokens-per-second per watt.

  • Evaluated 4-bit and 5-bit GGUF quantization matrices under memory load.
  • Balanced CPU-GPU dynamic layer offloading for zero thermal throttling.
llama.cpp Vulkan API GGUF Quantization Linux Profiling
Edge Inference
Embedded / Low-Level ARM64 Prototype

Native ARM64 Android Snake

Native Android application compiled directly for 64-bit ARM architecture to profile low-overhead device execution, frame pacing, and hardware lifecycle telemetry.

  • Android NDK toolchain targeting native 64-bit ARM ABI.
  • Built and tested on physical hardware to observe execution performance.
ARM64 ABI Android NDK Device Testing
Hardware Benchmarked

About Me & Background

My engineering mindset, education, and technical foundation.

"A real problem is a good place to start."

Hands-On Engineering Mindset

I learn fastest when there is a real, tangible system in front of me that needs to work. That mindset has driven me into rooted Android subsystems, custom Linux kernel patches, local LLM servers, and game simulations.

I use modern AI tools to accelerate prototyping, explore alternate solutions, and parse unfamiliar frameworks quickly, while maintaining strict human ownership over system architecture, benchmarking on real silicon, and tracking down edge cases where abstraction breaks down.

Debugging
Reading unfamiliar codebases, isolating reproduction steps, and kernel log analysis.
Product & UI
Translating low-level capabilities into clean, ergonomic Material 3 user experiences.
Android & Linux
Rooted environments, USB Gadget drivers, ADB toolchains, and hardware input abstractions.
Rapid Prototyping
Moving quickly from conceptual ideas to bench-tested, working hardware prototypes.

Academic Journey

Education & Credentials
McMaster University Bachelor of Technology (BTech) Automation Systems Engineering (Co-op) • Sept 2026 – Present
Saunders Secondary School OSSD • 4-Year Honour Roll Graduated June 2026 • London, ON
Languages
English (Fluent) • Vietnamese (Fluent) • French (Basic)

Skills & Technologies

Core software, operating system protocols, and development toolchains.

Languages

Low-level, systems, and scripting languages used in production & prototypes.

C++ Python HTML5 / CSS3 Bash / Shell
Systems & Hardware

Subsystems, device drivers, and protocol implementations.

Android (Root / AOSP) Linux Kernel USB HID Protocols
Tools & Infrastructure

Build environments, debugging toolchains, and AI runtimes.

Git & GitHub Android Debug Bridge (ADB) llama.cpp SFML Library Material Design 3 Linux CLI

Ready to build something remarkable.

I'm actively seeking Co-op positions and engineering internships to contribute to challenging systems, Android, or hardware-software integration teams.

github.com/dotcomdomain Download Resume (PDF)