About
About Andreas Brauchli
I have spent twenty years close to hardware. On-chip firmware in assembly for a proprietary sensor ASIC. A Linux kernel driver, written and upstreamed, that has shipped in every mainline kernel since. Routing, switching and firewall components for a decentralised defense networking platform. A 3D product configurator that turns specialist complexity into a clear buying flow: non-experts can specify what they need with confidence, while experts get a fast, precise tool that saves them time.
Most of that was done leading small teams. I was engineering manager at RUAG, Switzerland’s primary defense technology company, responsible for seven engineers across Linux systems, distributed architecture, networking and cryptography. Before that I led the market software team at Sensirion, an ETH Zürich spinoff building MEMS environmental sensors, where I was also the primary technical contact for sensor-SDK integrations with mobile phone OEMs.
I hold an M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and a B.Sc. from ETH Zürich, and I have published peer-reviewed work on embedded and smart-home security at USENIX, IEEE and in ZTE Communications. I served as a sergeant in the Swiss Armed Forces and deployed to northern Kosovo with NATO KFOR as a liaison monitoring team observer — six months of the job being entirely about people rather than systems.
How I work
Few clients, a long time.
I take few clients and stay a long time. My longest current engagement is in its fourth year. I would rather understand one system deeply than touch ten of them briefly, and I would rather tell you a thing is harder than you hoped than discover it together in month three.
I am also, reliably, the person who offers before being asked. If I can see the problem and I know the answer, you will hear about it.
Where I am
On the road, with a bench.
bitcreed LLC is a Colorado company. At the moment my family and I are travelling the United States full-time in an RV, which means I work remotely, keep unglamorous but effective hours, and carry a small hardware bench with me — embedded boards, a soldering station, and enough screens to be useful. Occasional on-site work is possible with notice.
Start a conversation
Tell me what you are building and where it is stuck.
I usually reply within a day or two.