Mehmet Kursunlu

Led the complete renewal of the airline’s most mission-critical software system — the Crew Tracking and Operations Management platform, valued at approximately $350–400 million. This program directly impacted flight operations, crew safety, scheduling efficiency, and international compliance.

Key Roles & Contributions

• Led the end-to-end execution of the Crew Tracking program, coordinating requirements, timeline, design, technical evaluations, and vendor interactions.
• Oversaw 60–65 cross-functional engineers, analysts, architects, and subject-matter experts.
• Served simultaneously as Product Owner, managing backlog, user stories, sprint planning, and prioritization.
• Conducted comprehensive gap analysis to map legacy system limitations vs. future-state requirements.
• Authored extensive RFI/RFP documentation, including technical, functional, integration, support, and SOW sections.

Vendor & Stakeholder Management

• Managed workshops with Airbus, Boeing, CAE, Jeppesen, IBS, and AIMS.
• Created an advanced Proof of Concept (PoC) evaluation framework to assess performance, scalability, uptime, resilience, and integration compatibility of products from global vendors.
• Negotiated technical clarifications and orchestrated evaluation sessions to protect Turkish Airlines’ operational interests.

Technical & Analytical Leadership

• Built data visualizations and dashboards using SQL, Power BI, Tableau, supporting C-level reporting.
• Provided weekly executive reports to senior leadership on program health and risk.
• Led additional R&D efforts including:
• AI/ML-based IROPS optimization for delay and disruption management
• Experimental Quantum Computing research for crew pairing and rostering performance enhancement

Impact

• Delivered a complete strategic renewal plan for one of the world’s largest crew management ecosystems.
• Standardized documentation, technical processes, and evaluation methodologies for future THY enterprise programs.

Founded Mars Labs to advance high-impact biomedical engineering, neuroscience, and neurotechnology R&D in Turkey. Led all engineering, product, and scientific operations, and developed Turkey’s first native clinical-grade neuromodulation device, achieving results surpassing global benchmarks.

Company Leadership & Growth

• Founded the company and established its technical vision, R&D strategy, and operating structure.
• Scaled the organization from 4 to 25–28 engineers, covering embedded systems, biomedical engineering, neuroscience, electronics, software, and AI.
• Built partnerships with universities, clinicians, and research institutions; established a strong innovation and experimentation culture.
• Managed budgeting, hiring, engineering workflows, performance processes, and IP development.

Technical Achievement

Clinical-Grade Neuromodulation Device (Full Lifecycle Ownership)

• Led end-to-end development of a CE-compliant neuromodulation device used for treatment-resistant neurological and psychiatric conditions.
• Designed over 90% of electronic circuitry, including stimulation modules, sensing, power systems, and safety components.
• Developed embedded firmware for real-time signal processing, stimulation control, communication protocols, and safety monitoring.
• Built a complete desktop control application with real-time visualization, session management, analytics, and clinician-oriented UX.
• Created secure, reliable device–software communication with medical-grade traceability and logging.

Neuroscience & Clinical Research Impact

• Ensured all hardware, firmware, and software met medical CE certification requirements for safety, usability, and compliance.
• The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) awarded:
• 600,000 TL R&D grant for the prototype
• 8 million TL for serial production after technical validation
• Conducted early clinical work at Konya Selçuk University; personally administered treatments for 20 voluntary chronic pain patients with an ~80% success rate.
• System demonstrated improvements in depression, anxiety, cognitive function, and chronic pain.
• Contributed to academic publications advancing neurostimulation research and Turkey’s position in neurotechnology.

Project & Product Management

• Served as Product Owner: defined product requirements, UX workflows, clinical features, safety constraints, and roadmap.
• Managed multidisciplinary teams with agile hardware–software hybrid processes.
• Oversaw regulatory documentation, traceability logs, test procedures, and engineering change control.
• Coordinated with clinicians and researchers to translate medical needs into technical features.

Key Achievements

Developed Turkey’s first CE-grade neuromodulation device (hardware + firmware + software)

• Led entire R&D cycle, clinical validation, and manufacturing transition
• Achieved 80% clinical success vs. typical 30–40% medication outcomes
• Secured 15+ million TL in production funding
• Built a high-diversity engineering and scientific team from scratch
• Contributed to advancing national neuroscience and biomedical R&D capabilities

Founded a neuroscience and AI-focused company developing new approaches to understanding brain function and applying these insights to real-world products.

Leadership & Strategic Impact

• Scaled the company from 5 to 35+ engineers and scientists in 2 years.
• Raised venture capital from Silicon Valley investors.
• Established the company as a recognized innovator in neuromodulation and AI-driven research.

Key Technical & Scientific Contributions

• Developed original theoretical research on neural activation patterns and brain region modeling.
• Designed prototypes to stimulate or inhibit specific brain regions using both hardware and software systems.
• Applied neuroscience insights to:

- Search algorithm efficiency optimization

- Large-scale data storage modeling

- Neural-inspired machine learning

Outcome

• Sold the company in a multi-million-dollar exit.
• Returned to Turkey to establish Mars Labs and continue R&D work.
• Developed groundbreaking theories on brain function and applied these insights to new medical devices and software algorithms; including search optimization and efficient data storage methods.

• Developed TURK, an enterprise-grade network security system detecting data leaks, monitoring anomalies, and blocking attacks in real time.
• Improved database performance and search algorithms for corporate systems.
• Used Python, Java, C/C++, Bash, and JavaScript to build defensive software.
• Implemented automated alerting and real-time threat categorization.

Solar Junction was a leading semiconductor and photovoltaic R&D company specializing in high-efficiency multi-junction solar cells for aerospace. During my tenure, the team achieved two world records with the SJ3™ solar cell (44% efficiency)—later used on the International Space Station and multiple satellite missions.

Software Engineering Contributions

1. High-Performance System Optimization (130× Faster Platform)

• Re-engineered the internal solar-cell testing platform used by scientists and engineers.
• Designed a multi-layer caching architecture (reverse proxy, opcode, and data caching) and implemented a custom load balancer.
• Results:

- 130× faster application performance

- Dramatic reduction in server load

- Real-time accessibility of test data for research teams

2. Automated Testing Infrastructure (300+ Modules)

• Built an automated testing suite covering 300+ internal modules, using PHP, JS, Python, and Git integration.
• Automated regression tests, improved release quality, and reduced manual QA workload.

3. ML-Based Solar Cell Defect Detection

• Built an automated OpenCV-based inspection system for high-resolution wafer images.
• Detected micro-defects, alignment errors, and material inconsistencies; provided automatic PASS/FAIL output.
• Reduced inspection time and minimized human error during manufacturing.

Technical & Scientific Support

1. Support for World-Record SJ3™ Solar Cell Development

• Collaborated with materials scientists and semiconductor engineers to optimize testing pipelines.
• Worked on IV curve acquisition, spectral response analysis, and multi-junction characterization tools.
• Directly supported workflows that contributed to Solar Junction setting two global efficiency records.

2. Database Optimization & Backend Improvements

• Optimized MySQL queries, improved schema design, and increased throughput for large-scale test datasets.
• Enhanced reliability and speed of internal data retrieval systems used in R&D operations.

• Researched microcontrollers and FPGAs with emphasis on embedded systems, digital logic design, and hardware acceleration.
• Implemented and optimized Verilog-based digital designs on the Altera DE2 FPGA board for improved real-time processing.
• Developed and tested firmware for PIC16F/PIC18F microcontrollers using mikroC, increasing system stability and efficiency.
• Simulated and verified electronic circuits in Proteus to ensure functional accuracy before hardware fabrication.
• Designed and prototyped custom PCBs using Proteus PCB tools, delivering reliable hardware modules integrated into larger systems.
• Collaborated with engineering teams to refine microcontroller programming, FPGA workflows, and embedded development practices.

Led an interdisciplinary engineering project to design a sustainable soil-erosion mitigation system for High Park.

• Managed a team of environmental, mechanical, and chemical engineers; coordinated directly with city officials and conservation experts.
• Conducted field assessments, slope and water-flow analysis, and GIS-supported erosion modeling.
• Produced high-accuracy 3D terrain models and engineered solutions such as terracing, bioengineering reinforcements, and natural water-channeling structures.
• Delivered a full project plan, engineering documentation, cost analysis, and implementation recommendations to municipal stakeholders.

Key Achievement: Delivered a sustainable, regulation-compliant erosion-control system design approved by city authorities.

Worked as a full-stack software developer delivering custom applications and leading one of Turkey’s earliest large-scale real-time public transportation information systems, later adopted across major cities.

Public Transportation System (Flagship Project)

• Designed and developed a multi-city real-time bus tracking and passenger information platform supporting GPS tracking, ETA prediction, seat availability, and optimal route recommendations.
• Built the full backend architecture, real-time data pipeline, and front-end user experience.
• Deployed initially in Istanbul and expanded nationwide in partnership with the Turkish Government; the system is now used by millions of daily passengers.
• Received multiple international awards for innovation and societal impact.

Custom Software Development

• Delivered bespoke applications for desktop, web, and mobile platforms, optimizing workflows and user experience.
• Implemented scalable architectures, optimized database performance, and built reusable code libraries to accelerate development.
• Provided end-to-end project delivery including requirements gathering, UI/UX design, implementation, testing, and support.

Key Achievements

• Built one of Turkey’s first large-scale real-time transit systems
• Developed high-performance algorithms for GPS tracking, ETA estimation, and routing
• Delivered numerous custom software solutions with strong client satisfaction
• Earned multiple awards in national and international engineering competitions