Burak Kucuktopal
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Burak Kucuktopal

Degrees in maths, physics, and computer science, all with top honours. Hands-on from industry leaders to fast-moving startups.

I studied three fields and built real software alongside them, at chip makers like NXP and ASML and at an American startup. Hard problems do not scare me, and I have a knack for explaining them simply. Now I put that to work for other people. I tutor students through a subject, coach engineers through a tough job market, and build software for the teams that need it.

See what I offer

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Services

What I offer

Pick the one that fits you. Each starts with a short call, on me.

01

Maths and science tutoring

To give you real depth.

For high school and university students who need help with the exact sciences.

  • I have tutored more than 20 students in maths, physics, and computer science, in some cases doubling their exam result.
  • I earned a dual master's in computer science and applied maths at TU Eindhoven, graduating cum laude. Before that came a dual bachelor's in maths and physics at UHasselt, with the jury's felicitations (9+/10).
  • Because I know where the difficulty in the material sits, I can get the concepts across clearly and effectively.
02

Freelance software engineering

Where real know-how is needed.

For teams that need backend, AI, or tricky systems work done well.

  • I have built software and done research at NXP, ASML, and startups, spanning backends, AI tooling, and full-stack apps.
  • I work fluently in Python, TypeScript, C++, and .NET, and I back it with proper testing and CI/CD so it stays stable.
  • You get a clear picture of every task, and I explain what the software does without burying it in jargon.
03

Interview coaching

Walk into the interview ready.

For students and engineers facing technical interviews at strong companies.

  • I passed Google's technical interviews for a summer internship, so I know the bar firsthand.
  • We practise the way a real interview runs: working through algorithms and system design out loud, under time.

Proof

My experience and projects, laid out.

A selection of my experience below. The full record lives on my portfolio.

Experience

  1. NXP Semiconductors

    AI/ML research intern, master's thesis

    Sep 2025 to Jun 2026

    Master's thesis with NXP Semiconductors on neural network inference without the cloud servers holding the AI models ever learning what the input is.

    • Designed and built the framework, with the algorithms behind it, to make encrypted neural network inference more practical.
    • Cut the memory needed on the user's device by 90 percent, through new optimisations for inference under encryption.
    • Contributed to a widely used open-source cryptography library by making the generated keys 30 percent smaller.
    • Graded 9.5/10 for the engineering and 8.5/10 for the mathematical foundations.
    Encrypted AIFramework designC++
    ckks-deploy

  2. ASML

    Formal verification engineer intern

    Nov 2024 to Apr 2025

    Mathematical formalism to guarantee that systems of millions of lines of code work correctly.

    • Developed a new approach to guarantee message ordering between systems using formal verification.
    • Tested against a codebase of over five million lines to see whether it could scale.
    Formal verificationC++Concurrency

  3. Dillen Technologies

    Backend engineer

    May 2025 to Aug 2025

    Backend work on a .NET application, plus the tests and cloud setup around it.

    • Extended the app with 10+ new entities, and built an integration test framework from scratch.
    • Through it, added 20+ integration tests and 100+ unit tests to the Azure CI/CD pipeline.
    • Built 20+ REST endpoints with Auth0 roles, and added real-time Gmail handling over Google Cloud, doubling the supported email providers.
    .NETAzure & GCPCI/CD

  4. Mobile Vikings

    Frontend engineer intern

    Jul 2024 to Aug 2024

    Dashboard that let the team run their own product tests, and the backend mock behind it.

    • Built a dashboard in Next.js, React, and TypeScript that let 100+ employees run product tests on their own.
    • Moved the 5000+ line backend mock onto Prisma with SQLite, so the data actually persisted.
    Next.jsReactTypeScript

Selected projects

  1. Codebase Time Machine

    Personal project, published

    2026

    Tool that answers a question every developer asks: why is this code here? It walks back through the history to the commit, pull request, and discussion that put it there.

    • I built it and put it out on two marketplaces (PyPI and VS Code), so anyone can install it and use it today.
    • It plugs into AI coding assistants and gives them a real way to dig through a project's past instead of guessing.
    • Shown on the Kubernetes codebase, tracing a cryptic line of code back to the commit, pull request, and discussion behind it.
    Developer toolsPublishedPython
    codebase-time-machineDemo video

  2. AquaSeal

    First place, WAIB Summit Hackathon

    Nov 2025

    Invisible fingerprinting for files, so you can prove you made something even after it is copied.

    • Won first place in a 24-hour contest against more than 80 participants.
    • The fingerprint survives compression, resizing, or conversion, and is recorded so ownership can be checked later.
    Web3SteganographyFastAPI
    AquaSeal
See the full work history

Background

What drives me.

Burak Kucuktopal

I have always been compelled to find the limits of what I know and what I can do. That motivated me to build knowledge that is broad, but deep and rich at the same time. My strong technical profile goes hand in hand with an equally strong social character. Challenges are there to take on, and that is what keeps me learning and widening my horizon every day.

Education

  • Dual M.Sc. Computer Science and Applied Mathematics

    Eindhoven University of Technology, Sep 2024 to Jun 2026

    Computer Science cum laude (9.0/10), Applied Mathematics 8.2/10. 190 ECTS in two years against a three year nominal duration. Joint thesis with NXP graded 9.5/10.

  • Dual B.Sc. Mathematics and Physics

    Hasselt University, Sep 2021 to Jul 2024

    Summa cum laude with felicitations of the jury. Best bachelor's thesis award.

Honors

  • Passed Google's technical interviews for a summer SWE internship
  • First place, WAIB Summit Web3 and AI Hackathon
  • Dual master's completed in two years, computer science cum laude
  • Summa cum laude with felicitations of the jury (bachelor's)
  • Limburg Chess Champion (2022)