culopatin

I have a decade of mixed experience: 10+ years in IT, 2 years on a professional motorsports team (Tony Kart, Ducati, Miata), and 4 years in software (refactoring old .NET to Spring Boot/Angular and some greenfield projects). I self-taught my way into dev and finished a CS degree while working.

I’m currently at a {big_slow_corp} and feeling the AI squeeze trying to switch jobs. My exp is not public facing so the “experience building scalable apps to disrupt the market” requirement I think is my weakness. I’ve also realized my heart isn’t in web frameworks. I’m the guy bored on a plane talking to his gf about flap software, throttle response, and suspension geometry like a kid showing a toy to his mom.

I want to move "closer to the metal", ECUs, controlling machinery, I’d love ML applied to machinery, even infotainments!, but my professional resume is strictly high-level. My tinkering experience includes building MegaSquirts and using ESP32s for signal filtering and logic, data loggers and wiring things you’d find in a race car, but I currently lack a project car to demonstrate new work.

How can I bridge the gap from Java/Angular to automotive software?

Does a decade of IT and 4 in backend experience carry weight in the "Software Defined Vehicle" world, or am I starting at zero?

What "proof of work" can I build to wow recruiters at places like Toyota Research or Tesla (any brand with US presence really) without a physical car to hack on?

I'm ready to pivot to where my passion actually is. Any advice is appreciated.