2021-Present

Aurora Innovation

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Aurora Innovation is a tech company with the goal of bringing autonomous driving to the world of long-distance trucking. I joined Aurora Innovation as a part of the acquisition of Uber ATG in 2021, and have taken on multiple roles within the hardware teams. Currently, I work as a design engineer focusing on the computer design, but I’ve also worked as a CAE engineer for the various vehicle and module structures.

It has been a joy not only to work with so many talented engineers on a meaningful problem, but also witness the company become an industry leader, gain partnerships with many of the leading truck OEMs, and mature from low-volume R&D to a real, scalable, working product!

Senior Mechanical Design Engineer

Currently, I work on the mechanical design team, where I specialize in automotive computer hardware and integrating PCBAs into electronic control units. Here are a few of my responsibilities and achievements!

  • Led the design and validation of a vacuum-brazed cold plate for Aurora’s high-power computer, integrating direct-to-chip interfaces, heat pipes, heat spreaders, busbars, preloaded CPUs/GPUs, and custom PCBA layouts in collaboration with EE. Saved ~$0.5MM while enhancing reliability, performance, and assembly over O-Ring solutions

  • Developed multiple high-pressure die-cast enclosures including Aurora’s computer chassis, electronic control units, and a remote SSD offload module. Designed for ingress-protection, EMI shielding, PCBA cooling, and structural integrity. Partnered with overseas contract manufacturers to deliver ~$2MM in program savings

  • Designed injection-molded sensor cleaning integrations to locate liquid and air knives to Aurora’s cameras. Conducted thorough analysis and testing to optimize plastic snap joint designs, accommodate camera tolerance stacks, and ensure calibration integrity across varying temperature gradients

  • Created large sheet metal integrations, considering sensor field-of-view, vehicle interfaces and load paths, harness routing, grounding, and serviceability

  • Performed Root-Cause Analyses (RCA) of failures using fishbone diagrams and design of experiments, and created impact analysis reports to outline downstream effects and actions

CAE Engineer II

Previously, I continued my structural analysis role from Uber ATG into my first year at Aurora. In this role I developed detailed structural models of vehicle-level integrations and PCBAs integrated into modules. I worked shoulder-to-shoulder with designers, validation engineers, and OEMs in order to quickly turn around analysis results to develop products and qualify crash and vibration criteria for risk reduction. A few highlights include:

  • Led the analysis of three generations of Aurora’s automotive computers, conducting: 

    • Development of PCBA models to characterize strain limits under harsh automotive shock and vibrations 

    • Modelling critical O-Ring seals and bolted joints on liquid coldplate structures

    • Assessment of assembly induced effects on sensitive PCBAs, with a focus on amplification/damping

  • Analyzed and modelled full vehicle-level structures of the Peterbilt 579 sleeper cabin and Toyota Sienna roof, trunk, center console, and rear-quarter panel. Designed to qualify and de-risk Aurora’s custom integrations for inertial crash loads, random vibrations, and operational shock pulses

  • Collaborated closely with OEM design and analysis teams to ensure alignment on Operational Design Domains and drive structural modifications to the OEM vehicle platforms

While I have since shifted back to mechanical design, the skills I learned as a structural analyst stay with me to this day. I frequently run my own simulations to inform my designs and speed up the process!

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Uber ATG