Swee Huat Sng

email: job@sngs.me

Embedded Firmware & Web Technologies Engineer

P R O F I L E

I have more than 10 years of software engineering experience creating successful business solutions that integrate networked embedded devices and cloud backend services. I hold a Bachelor’s Degree (Hons) in Electrical & Electronic Engineering. I have worked at Xerox, Peerless Systems, Canon and Sharp.

I am proficient in various programming/scripting languages, including x86 Assembly, C/C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, Python, Lua, shell and awk. I have written low-level code for BIOS, BSPs, ISRs and device drivers, as well as high- level server-side web services.

I strive to express myself with clarity in both written and oral communications. I am good at solving challenging problems with elegant engineering solutions.

My technical experience and interests include:

  • ELK stack (Beats, Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana)
  • Cloud, Big Data and serverless application development on AWS and Azure
  • Web application security (XSRF, XSS, HTML injection) and Authentication (Protocol: CAS2, OAuth2, OpenID Connect; IDaaS: Auth0, Azure AD B2C)
  • Network protocols (HTTP, TCP/IP, UDP, SSL/TLS)
  • Network stacks (TCP/IP, NDIS, TDI, BSD socket layer)
  • Embedded web servers (AppWeb, Boa, Nginx) and server-side scripting (EJS, ESP, Lua/OpenResty, CGI using shell/sed/awk)
  • Content/Document Management Systems (WordPress, Nuxeo, Grav)
  • Cross-platform mobile application development (iOS, Android) using alternative SDKs like PhoneGap, Appcelerator Titanium, Corona and Gideros Mobile
  • Embedded firmware development on embedded Linux (MontaVista), Windows XP Embedded and vxWorks

My recent work achievements include:

  • Architected and implemented authentication/authorization system for Sharp Synappx suite of products
  • Architected and implemented cloud-based remote device discovery/management system, allowing remote discovery and monitoring of MFPs behind a firewall
  • Architected and implemented Sharp OSA 4.x platform, enabling customized MFP imaging (print/scan/copy) applications
  • Designed and implemented custom Single-SignOn (SSO) component (based on CAS2) for Sharp Cloud Portal Office product
  • Hold 7 USPTO patents in the fields of cloud, web and networking

E X P E R I E N C E

Principal Software Engineer, Sharp Electronics (02/2007 - PRESENT)

Member of the Business Solutions group.

  • Extended a proprietary network protocol stack in vxWorks to add loopback device support. This technology became a key enabler in Sharp OSA 4.x, and is also the foundation for my USPTO patent in Performance- Enhanced Loopback Processing.
  • Created an embedded web application platform for Sharp MFPs, by integrating and customizing the open source projects: gSOAP, libcURL, openSSL, unzip, djpeg and Appweb. The final product was successfully released globally as Sharp OSA 4.x.
  • Created Sharp OSA 4.x remote device discovery/management system.
  • Created Sharp OSA 4.x dynamic web services framework that enables document-imaging workflows to be composed from distributed remote and local web services.
  • Earlier versions (1.0 - 3.x) of Sharp OSA require OSA application servers to be on the same network as the MFPs, making it impossible to host OSA servers in the cloud. I invented a patent-pending method that removes this restriction. This technology was instrumental in Sharp CPO (Cloud Portal Office) MFP use case.
  • Invented and patented a novel way of utilizing a social network to connect embedded devices. A working prototype was created using SocialEngine and Sharp OSA MFPs. This concept is now a university research project named Social-IoT.
  • Implemented custom Single-SignOn (SSO) user authentication for CPO, based on CAS2 protocol. Invented and patented a novel method of caching security tokens.
  • Utilized Nginx and Lua module to implement HTTP transformations and microservices for CPO.
  • Designed and implemented authentication/authorization system for Sharp Synappx suite of products, utilizing Auth0 as identity broker.

Prototyped:

  • a data collection system utilizing Elastic Beats and ELK stack.
  • a data ingestion pipeline using Logstash.
  • authentication systems leveraging AWS Cognito, Auth0.
  • Contributed to Sharp’s IP portfolio in the fields of cloud, web and networking technologies.


Principal Engineer, Peerless Systems Corporation (08/2006 - 02/2007)

Member of the Embedded Networking SDK team.

  • Implemented WSD (Web Services for Devices) server component of the PeerlessNet SDK suite, using gSOAP as the SOAP parsing engine. The WSD server was embedded in a line of MFPs released by a major Japanese printer company. During WinHEC 2007, Microsoft showcased Windows Rally technology using an MFP in that product line.
  • Developed functional tests for PeerlessNet SDK using C#; this allowed automated regression testing to be performed.


Member of Engineering Team, Canon Development Americas (10/2000 - 08/2006)

Member of the Advanced Technologies engineering team.

  • Acquired domain knowledge in WSD (Web Services for Devices) protocol. Developed a WSD client application in Java that was used to verify protocol compliance during WSD Interop.
  • Designed and implemented a Windows NDIS intermediate network driver for Network Mimic, an embedded- Windows-XP device that mimics the MAC address and IP address of a chosen network target. It acts as an invisible network proxy that filters or transforms network traffic to/from the mimicked target. The product was used internally by Canon in Japan.
  • Implemented interrupt service routines and device-level code for NEL (NetExtend Lite), an embedded device that runs MontaVista embedded Linux. NEL is used to host custom applications for legacy Canon copiers. Canon chose NEL as the platform for several internal applications in Japan.
  • Developed a secure printing system for NEL that utilizes LPR protocol to transport encrypted print data.
  • Implemented device client for Canon Service Portal, a cloud-based system to automatically deliver software updates to NEL.
  • Created CGI scripts (shell/sed/awk) for boa web server running on NEL.
  • Developed an RS232 Linux kernel device driver on NEL to interface with IPC-capable Canon copiers. IPC is a proprietary serial protocol supported by Canon enterprise copiers; it is used to control copier functionality or query device information.
  • Created an SDK to enable IPC application development. A Canon subsidiary used it to develop an IPC application that reports usage of leased copiers to a central server for billing purposes. The system was successfully deployed in Japan.


Software Engineer, Peerless Systems Corporation (04/1999 - 10/2000)

Member of the Printer Firmware Engineering team.

  • Designed print engine interface module using Rhapsody in C from iLogix. UML object models, state charts and sequence diagrams were used to model and test the design visually.
  • Achieved board bring-up for Superboard, a PowerPC 740-based scalable print controller.
  • Ported PeerlessPage PCL-5e and PCL-XL PDLs to Sun Solaris. The final product was released to market as a high- performance printing system.


Software Engineer, Xerox Singapore Software Centre (04/1994 - 04/1999)

Member of the Printer Firmware team.

  • Acquired domain knowledge in laser printing systems. Developed firmware for a series of Xerox mid-range laser printers launched in the U.S. market.
  • Ported Pacer's AppleTalk protocol stack onto laser printer firmware, enabling printers to support MacOS.
  • Acquired domain knowledge in PDLs (Page Description Language). Ported PhoenixPage PCL-5e and PostScript Level 2 interpreters onto a reference printer firmware. This led to the product launch of a series of Fuji Xerox office MFPs (Multi-Function Peripheral) in the Asia Pacific market.
  • Performed firmware maintenance for a line of Xerox plotters and laser printers. Honed ability to understand unfamiliar code and troubleshoot issues quickly.
  • Developed device-level firmware for a MICR (Magnetic Ink Character Recognition) security system to print checks. This system is an add-on module to an existing range of Xerox mid-range laser printers. The MICR add- on successfully boosted sales of compatible Xerox laser printers in the U.S. financial services market.

E D U C A T I O N

Nanyang Technological University — B. Engineering, EEE (1990 - 1994)

A W A R D S

Sharp Labs of America JVO Award -- 2011
Sharp Corporation Excellence Award -- 2009
Sharp Labs of America Invention of the Year Award -- 2009
Sharp Labs of America Invention of the Year Award -- 2007

P A T E N T S

Method for configuring a device using simple pictograms
US Patent: 8,176,427 · Inventors: Swee Huat Sng, Sebastien Jean

Method and system for comprehensive socket application programming interface loopback processing
US Patent: 8,286,197 · Inventors: Swee Huat Sng

Method and system for socket API call emulation
US Patent: 8,413,172 · Inventors: Swee Huat Sng

Sandboxed Daemon Process Invocation through HTTP
US Patent: 8,825,748 · Inventors: Swee Huat Sng, Joseph Yang

Security Token Caching in Centralized Authentication Systems
US Patent: 9,276,933 · Inventors: Swee Huat Sng

System and Method for Device Management using a Social Network
US Patent: 9,894,177 · Inventors: Swee Huat Sng, Lena Sojian, Roger Shih

Method and System for Indirectly Establishing a Unique Communication Channel Between a Plurality of Devices
US Patent: 9,936,036 · Inventors: Swee Huat Sng, Lena Sojian