Pepper
My name is Pepper Herman, and I'm a software engineer based in the Netherlands. I recently graduated from the Hogeschool van Amsterdam with a degree in Software Engineering and a minor in Autonomous Systems, and I love building software that has to work in the real world.
I started out caring mostly about how things looked, building websites and apps for different organisations. Over time I grew into a full-stack engineer who's just as comfortable with the backend and the database as with the interface. I like making software that's intuitive, fast, and genuinely nice to use.
During my minor I got pulled into robotics, and it stuck. For my graduation I built the navigation system for an autonomous indoor blimp, and I've also worked on an autonomous lawn mower. Whether it's a polished mobile app or a robot finding its own way through a room, I enjoy the challenge of code meeting the messy real world.
My career so far
I studied Software Engineering at the Hogeschool van Amsterdam from 2021 and graduated in 2026, with Autonomous Systems as my minor. Along the way I built plenty of full-stack projects, interned at Move Agency on the Budget Thuis app (where I helped move it from Dagger Hilt to Koin), and worked with Dept Agency on gamification for the Inter Milan app. My graduation project, an autonomous indoor blimp, is the one I'm proudest of.
Hogeschool van Amsterdam
Software Engineering, minor Autonomous Systems
2021 to 2026
This is where I grew from someone who liked making things look nice into a full-stack engineer. I graduated with a degree in Software Engineering and chose Autonomous Systems as my minor, which is where I really fell in love with robotics and software that has to deal with the real world.
Maintenance Lab (HvA)
Graduation Project, The Autonomous Blimp
2025 to 2026
For my graduation I designed and built a real-time navigation system for an autonomous indoor blimp, running fully onboard a Raspberry Pi 5 with ROS 2. I tested it for real, learned exactly why the first version failed, and used that to design a much stronger second version.
Move Agency
App Developer Intern
2023 to 2024
During my internship I worked on the Budget Thuis Android app with a small team, building and maintaining features in Kotlin and Jetpack Compose and helping migrate the app from Dagger Hilt to Koin to keep it modern.
Dept Agency
Student Developer
2023
On a student project with Dept Agency I helped add gamification features to the Inter Milan app, which taught me a lot about app development and keeping users engaged.
Process
01 Understand
Every project starts with figuring out what actually needs to happen. I dig into the goal, the constraints, and the people who'll use the result, so the work is pointed in the right direction before any real code gets written.
02 Plan & build
Then I get my hands dirty. I like to build in small steps, test as I go, and keep the experience smooth and intuitive. Whether it's a Compose app or a robot navigating a room, I shape each project around what makes it unique.
03 Refine
The last stretch is all about making it better. I take feedback, measure what's really happening, and iterate until it holds up in practice. A lot of my best fixes have come from watching something fail in the real world and learning from it.