Personal site
Kartik Buddha
I lead engineering and operations while building software for scientific instruments operating at the nanoscale. This site brings together my journey, writing, and artwork.
Path
From Singapore to Switzerland, through software, science, art, and engineering leadership.
Scroll through the stops — the map follows along.
The route
Singapore → Zurich
2006 → now
- 01 / 13 Zurich
2025 - now Engineering operations for nanolithography instruments
Closer to how teams, product decisions, and instrument delivery fit together.
Heidelberg Instruments Nano
- 02 / 13 Copenhagen
2023 - 2024 Technical recruiting support
A small consulting role helping ATLANT 3D with hiring around software and research-tool work.
ATLANT 3D
- 03 / 13 Zurich 2019 - 2025
Software leadership for instrument products
Leading software work for nanolithography tools and the product systems around them.
Heidelberg Instruments Nano
- 04 / 13 Zurich
2019 - 2023 Online learning and marketplace systems
Startup work beside the main track: product, marketplace, and learning workflows.
Mooctors
- 05 / 13 Zurich 2013 - 2019
Product and systems engineering
Hands-on product work across instruments, users, constraints, and careful releases.
Heidelberg Instruments Nano
- 06 / 13 Fribourg
2012 Computer vision and mobile augmented reality
A short internship in Fribourg before the move into scientific instruments.
Vidinoti
- 07 / 13 Princeton, NJ
2011 - 2012 Machine learning for medical microscopy
Research work with sparse coding and microscopic image data.
NEC Laboratories America
- 08 / 13 Lausanne
2010 - 2013 Signals, images, and interfaces
Graduate work that kept theory close to implementation.
EPFL
- 09 / 13 Lyon
2009 3D graphics and motion segmentation
A semester in Lyon working with time-varying meshes.
LIRIS
- 10 / 13 Singapore
2008 X-ray CT image processing
Early applied image work for inspection problems.
SIMTech
- 11 / 13 Singapore
2006 - 2010 Computer engineering and mathematics
Where the engineering base was built.
Nanyang Technological University
- 12 / 13 Hyderabad
Early years
- 13 / 13 Visakhapatnam
Born
Writing
Recent posts.
Technical notes on systems, tools, and things understood carefully enough to explain.
Jul 27, 2025 What Makes a Lens "Meta"? A short introduction to metalenses, metasurfaces, and the nanofabrication steps needed to make flat optics work.
Oct 20, 2024 The Semiconductor Trifecta: Understanding Intel, TSMC, and ASML's Interconnected Roles A concise overview of how Intel, TSMC, and ASML occupy different but tightly connected roles in the semiconductor supply chain.
Sep 18, 2024 How 2D Materials are Changing Lithography and Semiconductor Manufacturing An introduction to 2D materials, their role in lithography, and how software helps manage fabrication and integration challenges.
Art
Color on the side.
Acrylic and oil pastel work — faces, animals, and abstract forms.
