Andrew Stekar
About Me
Hey, I'm Andrew, an undergraduate Electrical Engineering student at the University of Waterloo. I have interests in circuit design, firmware development and power electronics, specifically motor control.
Check out my projects below.
Experience
- Robotics Intern - Actuator HardwareTesla, Palo Alto CASept 2026 - Present
- Electrical InternSteinmetz, Inc., San Francisco CAJan 2026 - Apr 2026
- Electrical Lead (2025 season)UW Formula ElectricDec 2022 - June 2025
- Electrical Engineer Intern - Actuator ElectronicsFigure AI, San Jose CAJan 2025 - Apr 2025
- Firmware EngineerBoron Energy, Vancouver BCMay 2024 - Aug 2024
- DSP Firmware EngineerInfinera, Kanata ONSep 2023 - Dec 2023
- Electrical Systems EngineerStein Industries Inc., London ONJan 2023 - Apr 2023
Waterloo Formula Electric
I was the electrical lead for the 2025 season. We redesigned almost the whole low voltage system: six new major PCBs, a new harness, new enclosures, and a bench setup for everything safety critical.
The car placed 1st of 35 teams at Formula Hybrid + Electric 2025.
Projects
Design, bringup and test detail for each project.
Electroplating Board (EPB)
Isolated current source for my capstone PCB prototyping machine.
Low Voltage Power Distribution Unit (PDU)
12V distribution for 14 loads, with sensing, e-fuses and LiPo charging.
BMU + PCU
The car's battery management unit, the controller for the HV system.
Accumulator Indicator LED (AILED)
Enables an LED when the tractive system voltage exceeds 60V, even with LV power off.
Battery Management System (BMS) Bringup
Simulated all 140 series cell groups and tested all 189 thermistors before touching the pack.
Vehicle Control Unit (VCU)
Front sensor processing and the dash display, with a Raspberry Pi 3 on board.
600V to 12V DC-DC Converter
Two stage converter that powers the LV system from the 588V pack.
Active Precharge Circuit
Buck style precharge, constant current and up to 4 times faster than RC.
Battery Management Unit HITL
Hardware in the loop rig for testing the BMU off the car.
Travel Sensor Driver Development
Transfer function for a non-linear suspension travel sensor.
Charge Cart Unit (CCU)
Bypasses the safety circuit for off-car charging and streams cell data to a laptop.
Other Projects
Older personal projects.
