Stage Propulsion
Responsible Engineer
Role Overview
As a Responsible Engineer on the Falcon 9 Stage Propulsion team, I served as the sole owner of multiple flight-critical fluid systems, accountable for their design, analysis, performance, and reliability from initial concept through launch operations. My scope included both single-use and multi-flight systems, balancing development of new designs with iterative upgrades to extend reusability and improve reliability.
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I actively communicated across various teams throughout the build, integration, and test process to support my hardware from subcomponent manufacturing through launch and re-flight. Rapid support of operations on the Hawthorne production floor and off-site test and launch facilities allowed me to bridge the design intent with actual hardware performance. This end-to-end involvement enabled rapid troubleshooting, analysis-informed action, and risk evaluation of off-nominal performance critical to maintaining SpaceX’s high launch cadence.
Key Skills
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​End-to-End System Design
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​System Ownership
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Flight-critical Risk Evaluation
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Cross-team & Cross-site communication
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Qualification Test Design & Execution
Software
NX, FEMAP, ANSYS, NASGRO, VSCode
Hardware In Action
Starlink V2 Mini Deploy
System purpose: timing-critical actuation of the Deploy mechanisms.
My Ownership:
Starting in 2022, I owned the full lifecycle, stepping in at a critical phase to complete analysis and qualification testing for Block 1 hardware. After demonstrating strong technical leadership, I assumed full system ownership and led the Block 3 redesign.​​​
Fairing Recovery
The Falcon 9 fairing serves as a hypersonic aerodynamic shield that deploys into an autonomously controlled spacecraft/reentry vehicle that lands softly in the ocean, recovered, and reused many times.
Key Project Overviews
Starlink V2 Mini Payload Deploy
Problem
​​The Starlink V2 Mini Deploy Propulsion system was originally developed on an accelerated timeline to meet launch readiness, resulting in a flight-proven but overly complex design. The system relied on legacy manifolds and a complicated network of point-to-point tubing to satisfy performance requirements. This approach resulted in an inefficient system with complicated manufacturing and integration processes. As the new system owner, I spearheaded a redesign to improve reliability, manufacturability, and packaging efficiency while maintaining stringent performance and qualification standards.
Action
I led a clean-sheet redesign of the propulsion tray, leveraging lessons learned from the initial configuration to develop a simplified, high-reliability layout. I re-architected the tray to consolidate valve manifolds and reduce total tube count by over 70% through optimized routing and integrated manifolding. Throughout development, I collaborated closely with avionics, vehicle dynamics, valves, and structures teams to align hardware interfaces, qualification requirements, and performance criteria. I executed system qualification to SpaceX and NASA standards by defining test operations, designing novel fixtures, performing structural analysis, and iterating the design to improve reliability. Once qualified, I worked directly with manufacturing, assembly, and test teams to ensure smooth production rollout, providing rapid support at both Hawthorne and the launch sites.
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Results
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Reliability: Simplified layout reduced potential leak points and integration risk. With its first successful flight in October 2023, the design has successfully flown over 220+ times and counting.
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Efficiency: Reduced tube count by 70% and replaced 3 manifolds with 2 consolidated units, lowering system mass and manufacturing hours.
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Schedule: Completed redesign, qualification, and flight integration in under six months
Customer Payload Purge
Problem
A SpaceX customer payload required a continuous purge flow from vehicle integration through liftoff. Falcon did not have an existing purge capability compatible with the payload’s specific separation mechanism. The system needed to meet strict flow-rate performance requirements while remaining structurally robust, maintaining full payload separation functionality, and fitting within extremely tight packaging clearances.
Action
I led the end-to-end design and qualification of a compact purge system to meet the customer requirements. It utilized a novel preloaded spherical-to-conical joint design to achieve reliable sealing performance while mitigating sticking risk during payload separation. The design minimized cantilevered mass and reinforced mounting flanges with structural braces. Throughout development, I coordinated closely with the customer and internal vehicle engineering teams to align my design with payload constraints and launch vehicle operations. After qualifying the design to enveloping environments, I traveled to the customer’s facility for a fit check and deploy demonstration.
Results
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The final hardware was mass-efficient, compatible with all customer and internal requirements, and could be adapted to future missions that utilize the same separation mechanism.
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The purge enabled successful payload launch and deployment.