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Composite Design
Aerospace structures, complex composite geometry, laminate definition, ply development, producibility, bonded assemblies, sandwich structures, AFP and tape-wrapped structures.
COMPOSITE DESIGN & MANUFACTURING ENGINEER
Engineering solutions for complex composite hardware.
Aerospace composite engineer with extensive experience spanning design, tooling, manufacturing, metrology, dimensional engineering, and engineering automation.
Woodinville, Washington
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10+ Years Aerospace Experience
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Active Secret Clearance
PROFILE
Designing, tooling, building, and solving.
I specialize in the space where engineering requirements, complex geometry, manufacturing processes, and dimensional control intersect.
My experience spans the full lifecycle of composite hardware—from concept and part design through tooling, fabrication, inspection, troubleshooting, and production. I've worked extensively with aerospace structures, bonded assemblies, complex composite geometry, and difficult manufacturing problems.
I'm particularly effective when the solution isn't obvious: determining how to fixture and bond complex geometry, developing datum and inspection strategies, compensating tooling for spring-in, or creating the automation needed to make a repetitive engineering process practical and repeatable.
TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES
Broad experience across the composite engineering lifecycle.
A combination of design, manufacturing, metrology, and automation experience allows me to approach problems from more than one direction.
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Tooling & Manufacturing
Molds, trim fixtures, bonding jigs, assembly tooling, mandrels, bladder molding, vacuum bagging, clamping and indexing strategies, process development, and supplier tooling integration.
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Metrology & Dimensional Engineering
Laser scanning, portable CMM systems, hard probing, laser trackers, PC-DMIS, datum strategy, dimensional analysis, reverse engineering, and inspection-driven process improvement.
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Engineering Automation
CATIA and Excel automation connecting design, manufacturing, inspection, documentation, and engineering data into repeatable workflows.
ENGINEERING APPROACH
Turning difficult problems into manufacturable solutions.
Composite engineering problems rarely exist in isolation. Geometry affects tooling. Tooling affects manufacturing. Manufacturing affects dimensional performance. Inspection reveals problems that may require changes upstream.
My experience across these disciplines allows me to work through that entire chain rather than treating each problem as an isolated task.
The result is practical engineering: solutions that can actually be built, inspected, repeated, and improved.
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Requirements
Understand the functional and dimensional problem.
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Design
Develop geometry, laminate, interfaces, and tooling.
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Manufacture
Account for real-world processes and constraints.
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Inspect
Measure results and identify dimensional variation.
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Improve
Feed manufacturing and inspection data back into design.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Aerospace design and manufacturing experience.
Senior Design Engineer — Composite Structures
Karman Space & Defense
Formerly Systima Technologies, Inc. · Mukilteo, WA
Primary composite design and manufacturing engineering resource supporting aerospace and defense hardware across development and production programs.
- Established CATIA as the company's primary composites design platform, including infrastructure, design standards, modeling practices, and automated drawing templates.
- Accumulated 20,000+ hours of experience in advanced composite part design, modeling, and parametric surfacing.
- Led composite design activities spanning concept development, process definition, part design, process documentation, inspection planning, and manufacturing tooling.
- Developed molds, trim and drill fixtures, bonding jigs, assembly tooling, and other manufacturing solutions for complex composite structures.
- Developed manufacturing approaches for challenging geometries, including vacuum bagging, bonding, bladder molding, restrained and unrestrained conditions, and supplier tooling integration.
- Investigated manufacturing defects and dimensional variation, translating manufacturing observations into design and process improvements.
- Developed reverse-engineering and spring-in compensation methods using scan data and deviation-field vector sampling.
- Worked across design, manufacturing, inspection, suppliers, and customers to resolve integration issues and establish executable engineering approaches.
Mechanical Engineer / Composite Tool Designer
Ascent Engineering
A subsidiary of Ascent Aerospace · Bothell, WA
Designed composite manufacturing tooling from concept through modeling and drafting to Boeing and Airbus standards.
- Developed tooling concepts, 3D models, and manufacturing drawings.
- Supported a B2B Flash Protection Screen requalification effort at Texstars in Dallas, Texas.
- Worked on site within Boeing's Renton tooling design organization as an integrated member of the design team.
ENGINEERING AUTOMATION
Automation built around real engineering workflows.
I have developed a broad suite of CATIA and Excel automation tools designed around the repetitive work that actually occurs in composite engineering, manufacturing, and inspection.
The goal isn't automation for its own sake. The goal is to make engineering processes faster, more consistent, less error-prone, and easier to repeat.
CATIA Automation
Ply creation, templating, gridding, model cleanup, parameter management, property editing, drawing automation, and composite workbench workflows.
Producibility
Automated checks and engineering tools designed to identify manufacturing concerns earlier in the design process.
Inspection & Metrology
Tools for measurement, inspection reporting, point-cloud processing, sampling, visualization, and engineering data extraction.
Engineering Data
Excel integration, PDM workflows, standardized documentation, reporting, and engineering data extraction.
Specialized Tools
Minimum-bounding-box measurement, test-coupon generation, mass-hole editing, dynamic offsets, cure reporting, nesting, and automated visualization.
.NET Development
Engineering applications and automation using .NET, primarily VB with strong familiarity in C#, including SQL database integration.
TECHNICAL TOOLKIT
Tools, processes, and manufacturing technologies.
Software & Digital Engineering
CATIA V5-6 · Composites Workbench · Reverse Engineering · .NET · VB · C# · SQL · Excel · PC-DMIS · SpatialAnalyzer · Virtek · G-Code · Adobe Creative Suite
Composite Processing
Prepreg layup · Vacuum bagging · Autoclave cure · 5-axis routing · Wet layups · VARTM · RTM · SQRTM · Hot draping · Crush core · Bulk resin infusion · Compression molding · Winding · Tape wrapping
Manufacturing Equipment
Mills · Lathes · Waterjet · Welding · Autoclaves · Hydroclaves · Ovens · Heated presses · High-temperature furnaces · Cutting tables · Virtek projection systems
Metrology & Inspection
Laser trackers · Laser scanning · Portable CMM / ROMER arms · Hard probing · GD&T · Datum strategy · Dimensional analysis · Reverse engineering
EDUCATION
Western Washington University
Bachelor of Science in Plastics Engineering Technology
ABET Accredited · Academic Minor in Materials Science
3.8
GPA
Cum Laude
Graduation Honors
President's List
Academic Recognition
Treasurer and Student Outreach Officer — WWU SAMPE/SPE Chapter
CONTACT
Let's talk engineering.
I'm always interested in discussing engineering challenges, composite design and manufacturing, technical opportunities, and interesting problems worth solving.
weagan22@gmail.com