William Emfinger
Chief Technology Officer at ATDev
Nashville Metropolitan Area, United States
About William Emfinger
William Emfinger is Chief Technology Officer at ATDev. Location: Nashville Metropolitan Area, United States.
I am a Technology Executive and Systems Engineer specializing in Robotics, Embedded Systems, and Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS). Currently, as CTO at Assistive Technology Development Inc., I am ATDev's Principal Investigator for the joint $41M ARPA-H RAMMP program building an open-source robotic mobility platform. With a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Vanderbilt University, I bridge the gap between academic research and mass-market product delivery. From architecting electronics and firmware for Backbone Pro gaming controllers to developing innovative FDA Class II medical robotic devices, I focus on building high-performance, low-latency systems that solve real-world problems using the latest technologies. Key Expertise: - Leadership: Directing interdisciplinary teams for multi-million dollar R&D initiatives. - Embedded Systems: Expert-level C/C++ and Python architecture for ESP32, ARM, and RTOS. - Robotics & ML: Advanced work in SLAM, autonomous navigation, and Unreal Engine-based simulation. - Academia: Adjunct Associate Professor at Vanderbilt University, advising on aerospace design and systems engineering. Guest lecturing on cyber-physical and embedded systems design and implementation. I am a strong advocate for open-source software, contributing tools like espp and ROSMOD to the global engineering community.
Skills
Additional experience
Adjunct Associate Professor
Vanderbilt University
Started October 2025
Education
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Vanderbilt University
- Bachelor of Engineering (B.E.), Vanderbilt University