Jonah Vanke

Background

About Jonah Vanke

I'm an engineer at MathWorks, helping customers solve real-world problems with MATLAB and Simulink. I focus on signal processing and control theory - writing code, creating examples, and working with customers to find and create solutions using our software. I also have a strong interest in geometric challenges, which overlaps heavily with my work: at MathWorks, NASA, FBRI, and my Master's thesis at the University of Cambridge, I've used Python and MATLAB to create effective solutions to spatial problems. This has also fueled a years-long set of personal projects to create 3D geometric art projects, often blending code and CAD to generate parts for 3D printing. I'm fascinated by difficult problems: I've solved quite a few recent Jane Street monthly puzzles, take an interest in behind-the-scenes signal processing algorithms, and have built up a mental arsenal of algorithms and techniques to turn spatial data and requirements into working models and prototypes. I find my engineering background often comes in handy when faced with challenges that go beyond what's typical for software engineering, particularly anything to do with radar, physics (especially orbital mechanics), statistical signal processing, mapping data, and robotics. I've always enjoyed programming most as a means to an end - an incredibly powerful tool to draw insights and make things happen.