David Ayala Email & Phone Number

El Segundo, Ca, Us

Hawthorne, California, United States

• Responsible for the CAD, drawings, manufacturing, inspection, assembly, and testing of the E2 injector components• Documented and conducted assembly procedures of Lox pump and TCAs at NASA Stennis, reducing the assembly/disassembly of necessary plumbing, mounting, and electronics to 1 day• Designed and manufactured tooling for engine repair, TCA assembly fixture, and E2 injector water flow test stand• Redesigned injector component to introduce new manufacturing technique to reduce production time by 65%• Introduced new quality assurance procedure to standardize verification & validation of component dimensions• Conducted warpage study of 3D printed injector body through manufacturing process to reduce risk of part scrappage

Mojave, California, United States

• Developed drawings according to ASME Y14.5 for primary and secondary structures of the XL-1 Lunar Lander• Designed in context secondary sheet metal mounting structures according to the Boeing Design Manual in Solidworks• Conducted structural, frequency response, and topology studies to verify component performance and reduce mass• Handled G-Ox/G-CH4 as ground crew for test campaign of 100 lbf engine, performing all necessary safety checks• Part of disassembly/reassembly team for Xodiac’s 700 lbf engine, inspecting and cleaning components as needed

Austin, Texas Area

• Tasked with overseeing and maintaining the design and manufacturing of the recovery bay and the nosecone• Ran 2D and 3D drag analyses with ANSYS Fluent on rocket to determine optimal fineness ratio of nosecone• Designed, constructed, and successfully tested a pyrotechnic deployment system for a 6 ft drogue parachute• Coupled 1 DOF re-entry model of rocket with parachute calculator in Python to create preliminary size of parachutes• Developed a bolted joint calculator to determine margin of safety for each failure mode of a bolted joint design

My role at JPL entailed mechanical design and analysis for three key aspects of the test campaign of a new mechanism to be used on the Sample Return Lander in the Mars Sample Return Campaign. The first design test piece I developed was a mass model representing the Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV). The mass model had to be modular in mass, moment of inertia, and center of gravity to account for any design changes as the project progressed. I conducted all of the initial structural analysis with SW Simulation. I created a BOM of the assembly and had funding been approved, would have procured, assembled, and verified the model’s mass properties. The next design concept I worked on was developing a pressure system that would provide the same upward force as a gas generator. I looked at both a low- and high-pressure design, settling on the high-pressure design for its simplicity and cost. I used MATLAB to create a dynamic model of the throw event, simulating the thermodynamic effects inside the pressure system and recording the resulting force and motion of the MAV. I presented my design and operating procedure to the Pressure Design Team at JPL and it was greenlighted for procurement. The final concept I designed was the model Mars lander the MAV would be launched from. I developed a deck design that was modular in stiffness, verifying the natural frequency of the deck with SW Simulation. Additionally, I looked at piston spring, coil spring, and leaf spring legs to model the modular stiffness of the lander legs, settling on leaf springs as the range of stiffnesses was largest. I used MATLAB to model the legs as a beam bending problem with different end conditions, creating a range of stiffnesses for each length of the leaf spring. The two most important things I learned from JPL was to find ways to work modularity into your designs and to not get attached to your work because of how dynamic the engineering process is.

New Haven, Ct

Starting in January, my job was to develop an academic curriculum for students all over the US to better understand engineering and learn the basic skills that all engineers use. Additionally during the spring, I interviewed over 15 candidates and hired 8 candidates for the summer positions that I had to fill. These candidates were to be trained and managed throughout the duration of the summer when the program would be taking place. While developing the curriculum, I created schedule for the program throughout the summer including field trips, guest speakers, and activities requiring extensive amounts of supplies and equipment for the students to use. Throughout the summer, I was responsible for the procurement of supplies and tools, managing and providing feedback and evaluations to the staff, and handling all scheduling and logistical issues that came up during the program.