Hiking and the outdoors, golf, triathlon, gaming, flying
Rohan von Solms
Electronic Design Engineer
Pretoria
Summary
A highly motivated and innovative electronics professional with 2.5 years of experience at 5DT, demonstrating a clear progression from hands-on electronic design and embedded software development to a leadership role. As Deputy Electronics Group Manager and Head of R&D, I directed a team in managing all PCB and firmware projects, while also spearheading initiatives that standardized design practices and significantly enhanced product reliability.
With a strong foundation in both hardware and software, I excel at full-cycle product development, from technical documentation to initial design in PADS Professional and embedded software using my proficiency in embedded C. My exposure to multiple different design techniques and software projects has significantly increased my knowledge in troubleshooting complex systems. Due to short product lifecycles I gained a knack for solving time-critical issues. All of these traits combined with strong communication and mentorship skills, has been instrumental in delivering innovative simulator technologies and maintaining high engineering standards across multidisciplinary teams.
Overview
10
10
years of professional experience
2
2
Languages
Work History
Electronic Development Deputy Group Manager
5DT
Pretoira
01.2025 - Current
- Directed the Electronics team, managing all PCB and firmware projects, and assigning key design and development tasks to team members.
- Spearheaded R&D initiatives, leading to the creation of standardized, reusable blocks for PCB designs that significantly increased the overall reliability of the company's electronics suite. Standardized the use of specifications, acceptance test procedures, and design consideration documentation for all PCB designs.
- Spearheaded hardware upgrades for our current electronics product suite, including a new MCU suite, the use of software development kits, better communication protocols such as CAN FD, and started development on over the air flashing for improved support experience.
- Headed electronics product design and management in multiple multidisciplinary projects.
- Managed the review and approval process for all PCB and commonly used block designs, ensuring consistency and adherence to high engineering standards.
- Mentored and provided technical guidance to the electronics team, serving as the primary point of contact for project-related queries and technical challenges.
Electronic Design Engineer
5DT
Pretoria
03.2023 - 01.2025
- Designed, developed, and implemented electronic systems for new and existing simulators, including upgrading products and creating custom solutions for specialized systems.
- Troubleshot and resolved complex system issues, specializing in motion platforms with advanced motor control and force-feedback steering systems.
- Identified and resolved embedded software bugs, while also upgrading firmware to introduce new features, and enhance product functionality.
- Oversaw the product lifecycle as the Electronics Product Manager, approving required components, and evaluating hardware and electronics engineering drawings to ensure they met design, functionality, and manufacturability specifications.
- Collaborated extensively with hardware and software teams to create fully integrated simulator systems and innovative electronic products.
- Conducted regular peer reviews and provided constructive feedback to maintain a high standard of engineering excellence across the group.
- Conducted 2 international support trips to clients with existing and new 5DT products. It was my responsibility to fix on-site issues that were known and that arose on site - as well as the installation of the training simulators. Part of my responsibilities was client satisfaction and training instructors and operators to properly use our training simulators.
Engineering Intern
Truteq
01.2022 - 03.2022
- Worked independently and alongside engineers.
- Applied engineering methods and procedures to plan agricultural improvements.
- Effectively utilized engineering strategies to address and improve agriculture irrigation and water transportation efficiency.
- Combined the acquired knowledge of ultrasound technologies and engineering to achieve agricultural goals.
- Applied troubleshooting techniques when necessary.
- Successfully formulated and documented a user requirement specification (URS) for the product.
- Developed a proof of concept (POC) for the URS. This involved designing and constructing a 3D part using CAD software and 3D printers, ultrasonic sensor evaluation and testing, time-of-flight system-on-chip evaluation, hardware implementation of the POC, and testing and quantifying the assembled POC.
Data Capturer
Optimi Learning
01.2021 - 03.2021
- Merged data with existing data sets, careful to keep old data sets and documentation.
- Worked in a team environment and executed tasks under the management of a project leader.
- Learned valuable communication skills and the ability to adapt to changing workloads, and requirements.
Mathematics Tutor, Voice Over Artist
Impaq Education
01.2019 - 02.2019
- Successfully planned and executed over 30 high school grade lessons in mathematics, mathematical literacy, and financial mathematics in both Afrikaans home language, and English first additional language, for Grades 8 through 12.
Vacation Student
Truteq
11.2017 - 12.2017
- Worked as a student engineer in circuit construction and debugging, assisting electronic engineering professionals.
- Assisted professionals throughout the course of employment with various tasks.
- Monitored and got familiarized with a professional engineering environment.
- Assembled multiple PCB circuits, learned to solder effectively, learned the skill of debugging electronic circuits, and got familiarized with engineering standards in the workplace.
Vacation Student
Truteq
06.2015 - 07.2015
- Worked as a student engineer in circuit construction and debugging, assisting electronic engineering professionals.
- Monitored and got familiarized with a professional engineering environment.
- Shadowed an engineering professional to get familiarized with engineering work ethics and the day-to-day tasks that are involved with engineering.
Education
Bachelor of Engineering - BE - Electronics Engineering
University of Pretoria/Universiteit Van Pretoria
Pretoria01-2023
High School Diploma -
Centurion High School
Centurion, South Africa12.2017
Skills
Time Management
Ability to Work Under Pressure
Technical Problem-solving
Team Collaboration
Project Planning & Management
Technical Documentation
undefinedWebsites
References
Eric Guldemond, cguld@truteq.com, +27 83 646 0138, Truteq
Craig McCreath, craig.mccreath@5dt.com, +27 60 504 4753, 5DT
Interests
LINKS
LinkedIn
Timeline
Electronic Development Deputy Group Manager
5DT
01.2025 - Current
Electronic Design Engineer
5DT
03.2023 - 01.2025
Engineering Intern
Truteq
01.2022 - 03.2022
Data Capturer
Optimi Learning
01.2021 - 03.2021
Mathematics Tutor, Voice Over Artist
Impaq Education
01.2019 - 02.2019
Vacation Student
Truteq
11.2017 - 12.2017
Vacation Student
Truteq
06.2015 - 07.2015
Bachelor of Engineering - BE - Electronics Engineering
University of Pretoria/Universiteit Van Pretoria
High School Diploma -
Centurion High School
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