Resume
Summary
Aircraft systems engineer with 15+ years in flight test, avionics integration, and FAA certification on Part 23 and 27 aircraft. Former Garmin ODA Unit Member; most recently integrated cockpit systems and defined the IVHMS for a clean-sheet business jet. Deep hands-on expertise in wiring design and electrical systems with custom software tooling that cuts engineering cycle time.
Experience
Otto Aerospace, Inc.
- Define interface and control requirements integrating 19 ATA systems with federated Garmin avionics into a cohesive cockpit, coordinating with electrical, propulsion, mechanical, and airframe system owners.
- Design cockpit switch panels and control layouts, and define CAS messages and crew alerting logic.
- Author wiring diagrams for all avionics-dependent systems, defining every interconnect between airframe systems, cockpit controls, and the flight deck.
- Develop tools that translate AutoCAD wiring diagrams into 3DEXPERIENCE for 3D routing and automated wire sizing with bundle derating per SAE AS50881, cutting 2–3 days from each diagram revision with full traceability.
- Lead IVHMS systems engineering from initial market research through architecture, requirements, and supplier selection, and set the strategy for how fleet health data is collected and used.
- Author the IVHMS RFI, RFP, SOW, and specification, and lead supplier evaluation to define a modified off-the-shelf (MOTS) solution.
- Model false-positive maintenance costs statistically to set the minimum predictive accuracy IVHMS algorithms must reach to deliver net savings.
- Own 200+ functional requirements in Jama across IVHMS and integrated systems, plus environmental and reliability requirements; perform system-level FHA and support the PSSA.
- Mentor 3 junior engineers on a 7-person team in systems integration, electrical design, and requirements development.
Garmin International, Inc.
- Defined requirements and designed electrical and mechanical installations for autopilot, PFD/MFD, navigation, traffic, weather, and engine instrumentation systems, including AML STC installation data.
- Performed electrical load analyses per ASTM F2490 supporting 100+ AML STC approvals and revisions, verifying bus capacity, source margins, wire sizing, and bundle capacity for Part 23 and Part 27 aircraft.
- Reverse-engineered functional requirements of legacy integrated flight decks to support full engine instrumentation replacement and autopilot retrofit integration.
- Served as Garmin ODA Inspection Unit Member across 50+ FAA Type Inspection Authorizations, reviewing and concurring with PSCP for installation conformity, approving TIA and RFC inspection packages, and authoring FAA Forms 8110-1, 8130-9, 8100-1, and STIR Part 1 for Part 23 and Part 27 aircraft.
- Led technician teams in root-causing airframe and avionics failures, including customer AOG support, and authored continuing airworthiness and troubleshooting processes.
- Planned and executed certification ground tests, coordinating test aircraft, equipment, crew, and schedules against certification milestones.
- Built intranet tools (C#/ASP.NET Core, MS SQL Server) for configuration control of aircraft modifications, maintenance tracking, and weight and balance with traceability to calibrated tooling.
- Drove technical data revisions to installation and maintenance manuals through JIRA and ECO processes.
- Mentored 10 junior engineers over seven years in aircraft electrical design, system integration, and regulatory compliance.
- Named Garmin Employee of the Month (June 2024) for active, vocal technical leadership and management of the company's experimental test aircraft.
Piper Aircraft, Inc.
- Maintained instrumentation for Piper's flight test fleet, keeping 3–4 aircraft types flying across multiple programs; configured ACRA and TTC Ethernet (UDP) backplanes and integrated data streams with IADS for in-flight analysis.
- Developed data acquisition system architecture, wiring schematics, and installation drawings for PA-46/M600, deriving instrumentation requirements from program design specifications.
- Built custom solutions on COTS microcontrollers and single-board computers, including IEEE 1588 GPS time synchronization across data systems, real-time parameter displays for high-risk test flights, cockpit remote display, and flight flutter excitation.
- Scheduled test assets and assigned instrumentation technician tasking across concurrent programs, reviewed test plans ahead of TRR, and reported daily flight test status to engineering and management.
Composite Engineering, Inc.
- Instrumented and planned development test flights for U.S. Navy BQM-177A using accelerometers, thermocouples, RTDs, strain gages, pressure transducers, load cells, and high-speed video; monitored in-flight data for safety of flight and data quality.
- Developed the company's telemetry decommutation and data reduction software, automating plotting and analysis by phase of flight, test condition, and mission objective.
- Performed CFD thermal and structural loads analysis of BQM-177A and a 5th Generation Target concept across all flight phases using STAR-CCM+, TETRUSS, and FEM interpolation.
- Served as lead mass properties engineer for BQM-177A; designed and built a measurement apparatus locating 1500 lb aircraft CG within 0.025 in, significantly reducing pre-flight time and cost.
RWTH Aachen, Germany
- Installed, calibrated, and synchronized data acquisition for single-cylinder optically accessible diesel engine Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) test apparatus using LabVIEW which mapped and quantified flow fields in three dimensions.
California Department of Water Resources
- [What you worked on: facilities, systems, drawings, testing.]
University of California, Davis
Earlier and other work
Round Table Pizza
Bel Air Supermarkets
Dairy Queen
Independent Work Unpaid
Independent Consultant: Class 8 Truck Radiator Flow Testing
- Designed and fabricated static pressure probes for highly turbulent flow and built the data acquisition system for experimental testing of a Volvo VNL 660.
- Coordinated and executed customer-requested testing of mass flow through the diesel engine radiator, evaluating efficiency gains from a front-end cowl on the radiator face.
- Documented and presented results on the customer's schedule to support follow-on CFD analysis of the drag reduction design.
Experimental Aircraft Performance Research: Lancair 360
- Instrumented a Lancair 360 for flight test to measure actual cruise performance.
- Built a data acquisition system logging static pressure, dynamic pressure, elevator position, and manifold pressure, integrating sensors and a real-time display over RS-232, I2C, and SPI on a manufacturer-ready PCB designed in EagleCAD.
- Supported data reduction and post-test analysis toward publication with the Society of Flight Test Engineers (SFTE), and began designing climb and maneuver test methods.
Education
-
M.S. in Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, University of
California at Davis
- B.S. in Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, University of California at Davis
Certifications
- FAA Private Pilot Certificate, SEL
- FAA Repairman Certificate (Garmin AT Repair Station)
- Engineer in Training (E.I.T. / F.E.)
- FCC Technician Class Amateur Radio Operator (KJ7ECV)
- DoD Security Clearance Eligible (last held 2013)
- Hazardous Material Handling: Explosive Ordnance
Honors
- First Year Scholar, University of California at Davis
- 2008 Gyro Spin Off, Winner