Hi, I'm Julian Oes

Expertise

I have worked at the intersection between drone internals and everything else connected to it, from overall architecture down to nitty gritty debugging:

• Maintaining open source projects
• Communication infrastructure / plumbing (MAVLink, MQTT, gRPC, Protobuf)
• Bridging between embedded and apps or the web using MAVSDK
• Build systems and dependencies, cross-compilation (cmake, dockcross, Android, iOS)
• Drivers / systems programming (NuttX)
• Embedded debugging and profiling (JTAG)
• Companion computer integration
• Camera integration
• Simulation in software and hardware
• Hardware testing
• Merging with upstream and making sense of git
• Writing and reviewing code (C++, C, Python)
• Flying drones

Experience

I have 12 years of industry experience in the drone and open source software space, through various companies but always based on the same technologies:

• March 2022 to today
  Drone Software Consultant
• January 2019 to February 2022
  Lead Software Engineer at Auterion
• March 2017 to February 2019
  Senior Software Engineer at Yuneec Research
• August 2016 to February 2017
  Software Developer at Yuneec International
• January 2016 to August 2016
  Software Development Engineer at 3DR
• December 2014 to December 2015
  Software Development Engineer at Amazon Prime Air
• October 2012 to April 2013
  Software Development Intern at 3DR

FAQ

1. Can I send you my question via email?

   Please post questions in public forums like PX4 Discuss unless you're seeking paid consultation, as I can't scale 1-on-1 support.

2. Why don't you answer to my post on the forum or GitHub?

   If I haven't responded, I probably don't know the answer, or I'm busy. If I responded earlier trying to help, feel free to bump a thread after a few days.

   If something is important and urgent to you, contact me via email so we can check my availability for paid work.

3. Do you take on work for defense?

   No, I generally avoid defense work. However, if the project involves dual-use technology, I may still offer assistance, though it’s not my primary focus.

4. What is your rate?

   I charge 250 USD/h hourly for proprietary software and 175 USD/h for open source software which is contributed back to upstream.

5. Do you do fixed-price projects?

   In my experience, estimating the time and effort required for a project is very difficult to impossible: I usually know the time a project takes by the time it's done.

   However, if you absolutely need a fixed price, and your project is small and well scoped, I can provide one, though it will likely be higher to account for potential risks and unknowns.

6. How can we keep cost at bay?

   We can keep costs manageable by working in small, defined increments and setting hourly limits per project or on a weekly / monthly basis. This approach ensures transparency and avoids budget surprises.

7. What's your timezone?

   I live in New Zealand, so that's New Zealand time. I tend to take calls in the early morning to accommodate for timezone differences.

8. Can you come on-site?

   Possibly. It depends on the location, timing, and duration of the engagement. Any travel-related expenses will need to be covered by the client.

9. Do you offer training?

   Yes, I offer training on topics where I have deep expertise, particularly in areas related to MAVLink and MAVSDK. Let’s discuss your needs, and I’ll let you know if I can help.

10. Do you offer ArduPilot help as well?

    I might be able to help when it comes to ArduPilot issues in relation to MAVLink and/or MAVSDK. For other aspects of ArduPilot, I'm likely not the best person to help.

11. Do you offer monthly retainers?

    Currently, I don’t offer retainers, as I want to avoid letting clients down when I’m unavailable or too busy.

12. What's your current waiting list?

    My availability varies depending on the nature of the project and my current commitments. Let’s discuss your needs, and we can figure out when I can accommodate your request.

13. Can I have a discount?

    Possibly, if you have a compelling reason. However, I recommend posting in public forums where I often provide free help.

    If you’ve benefited from my advice, you're welcome to leave me a tip.

14. Would a bigger project be cheaper?

    I’m shifting away from long-term projects that occupy me for weeks or months at a time. My goal is to act as a consultant, providing support, guidance, and training to help upskill your engineering team rather than taking on all the work myself. I aim to empower your team rather than becoming a bottleneck. When I do engage in development, I prefer it to benefit a wider audience, particularly in open-source projects, which is reflected in my pricing structure.

15. Will you sign my NDA?

    I’m generally open to signing NDAs as long as they are reasonable in scope and time-bound.

16. Do you have any terms and conditions?

    Yes, here are my terms and conditions.

17. How do payments work?

    I invoice at the end of each month, with payments due within 14 days via credit card or wire transfer.
    For one-off consultations, you can pay upfront when scheduling a call via Savvycal.

18. We had a call and it was not helpful, what do we do?

    If you didn’t find our paid call helpful, just let me know, and I’ll gladly refund your payment—no questions asked.