Portrait of Salihu Sadau
SADAU · ZARIA · NG

Salihu Sadau

Software Developer · Digital VLSI Design Trainee · Electronics Specialist

module salihu_sadau (
  input  wire problem,
  output wire solution
);

I'm a software developer and digital-design trainee with a Higher National Diploma in Computer Science from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. My path runs in an unusual direction: from writing backend web applications, down through board-level electronics repair, and now into the silicon itself as a full-time trainee on the NBTE–ChipLab Digital VLSI Design programme in Abuja. That range gives me one consistent strength — structured, hypothesis-driven troubleshooting. Whether the bug is in a Laravel controller, a Verilog module, or a faulty chip on a motherboard, the method is the same: isolate, test, verify, document. I work at a Nigerian chip-design centre alongside teams engaging clients in India and the US, and I'm available for remote software, code-evaluation, and STEM data work, as well as junior RTL design and verification roles.

// about

Software to silicon

I'm a software developer and digital-design trainee with a Higher National Diploma in Computer Science from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. My path runs in an unusual direction: from writing backend web applications, down through board-level electronics repair, and now into the silicon itself as a full-time trainee on the NBTE–ChipLab Digital VLSI Design programme in Abuja.

That range gives me one consistent strength — structured, hypothesis-driven troubleshooting. Whether the bug is in a Laravel controller, a Verilog module, or a faulty chip on a motherboard, the method is the same: isolate, test, verify, document. I work at a Nigerian chip-design centre alongside teams engaging clients in India and the US, and I'm available for remote software, code-evaluation, and STEM data work, as well as junior RTL design and verification roles.

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Skills

Programming

  • Python
  • JavaScript
  • PHP · Laravel
  • SQL
  • HTML / CSS

Digital design & hardware

  • Verilog HDL
  • FPGA
  • Gate-level & structural design
  • Dataflow logic · Verdi
  • Chip-level repair & board diagnostics

Tools & practices

  • Git / GitHub
  • Debugging & root-cause analysis
  • Code review
  • Technical documentation
  • Remote, async workflows

Foundations

  • Algorithms & data structures
  • Problem decomposition
  • Quality-first execution
  • English (professional) · Hausa (native) · Arabic (elementary)

// signal path

Experience

Full-Time Trainee, Digital VLSI Design — ChipLab

NBTE–ChipLab Programme · Abuja, Nigeria · Apr 2026 – Present

  • Design and implement digital logic in Verilog HDL across gate-level, structural, and dataflow modelling styles.
  • Build a public GitHub portfolio of VLSI work with disciplined commits and version control.
  • Work on-site at a chip-design centre alongside teams engaging clients in India and the US.

Backend Developer (PHP / Laravel) — Freelance with Independent Projects

Nigeria · Prior to and alongside current training

  • Built and maintained backend web applications: routing, SQL database integration, and application logic.
  • Wrote supporting Python and JavaScript for automation, data handling, and interactivity.
  • Fixed bugs and refactored existing codebases for readability and maintainability.

Hardware Maintenance & Chip-Level Repair — Freelance Independent

Zaria, Nigeria

  • Performed board-level diagnostics and chip-level repair, tracing faults from symptom to root cause.
  • Built the practical electronics foundation that now underpins formal VLSI and FPGA training.

Independent Technical Research & Writing

Published as Sadau Yakubu Salihu

  • Authored a comprehensive industry report on GPU and board-level electronics repair as a growth sector in Nigeria — technical landscape, market analysis, and a phased roadmap toward chip-design capability.

// build log

Selected work

Verilog · Digital design

VLSI design portfolio

A growing public repository of Verilog HDL modules from the NBTE–ChipLab programme: gate-level, structural, and dataflow designs, each documented and version-controlled.

github.com/dansadaucodinghub-sys →

PHP · Laravel · SQL

Backend web applications

Independent backend builds in Laravel — application logic, database design, and bug-fixing on live codebases, supported by Python and JavaScript scripting.

Request details →

Research · Technical writing

Nigeria electronics-repair industry report

Long-form feasibility research on GPU and board-level repair as an industrial opportunity for Nigeria, with a phased roadmap from SMD repair toward chip design.

Request a copy →

// education

Education

Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria

Higher National Diploma (HND), Computer Science · 2017 – 2019

Iya Abubakar Institute of Computing & ICT, ABU Zaria

Diploma in Computing / ICT · 2017 – 2019

NBTE–ChipLab Digital VLSI Design Programme

Full-time trainee · Abuja · 2026 – Present

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Languages

  • English professional working
  • Hausa native
  • Arabic elementary