About Simon Bernbeck

A life between engineering, research, and Rio

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Hi, I’m Simon. Around here I also go by Oliseus.

I grew up in Waiblingen near Stuttgart, Germany. My path into technology was not completely straight. I first studied International Project Engineering at Reutlingen University, where engineering, project work, and international collaboration came together. That background still shapes how I approach software: I enjoy the technical details, but I also care about the people, processes, and decisions around them.

I now live in Rio de Janeiro and study for a master’s degree in Informatics at PUC-Rio. I am also a researcher at the AISE Laboratory, where I work on privacy-oriented software engineering and artificial intelligence. My current interests include large language models, retrieval-augmented generation, agent workflows, knowledge graphs, and ways to connect software development with privacy work.

Before returning to university, I worked in knowledge management and frontend development at Bosch and later in web migration and UI testing for web, iOS, and Android platforms at BBG Bitbase Group. I have also worked with project planning, digitalization, and teaching through social work in Vidigal. These experiences gave me a practical view of technology and made intercultural collaboration an important part of my life.

What matters to me

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Building useful things

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I learn best by making something real, testing it, finding what is wrong, and improving it. This applies to a small Python project as much as it does to a research pipeline.

Responsible technology

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AI is powerful, but useful systems need more than impressive demos. I am interested in software that is understandable, testable, and careful with people’s data.

Travel and perspective

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Brazil has become an important part of my life. I have also travelled by bike through Rwanda and Uganda with my father. Experiences like these made me more curious, more patient, and more aware that there is rarely only one sensible way to see a problem.

What you’ll find here

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• research and practical projects in software, AI, and privacy
• notes from my Informatics master’s degree
• travel stories and life in Brazil
• reflections on learning, work, and building a life with more independence

Useful links

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• LinkedIn — professional background and updates
• GitHub — code and technical projects

Why “Oliseus”?

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Oliseus is my variation of Odysseus: the traveller who keeps moving, learning, and trying to find his way home. It is a good name for a blog that is still being written.