Vlad Florea Email & Phone Number

Toronto, ON, CA

Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

• Mechanical engineer responsible for R&D, design, manufacturing, assembly, and testing of robotic tools used for pipeline inspection
• Led multi-disciplinary teams in the development of new electro-mechanical systems for pipeline inspection addressing the evolving needs of our clients
• Acted as systems engineer working with product owners to generate technical requirements for projects
• Investigated failures of mechanical systems and performed root cause analysis to identify and implement corrective measures
• Managed fast-paced projects through project scoping, work scheduling, budgeting, and change management

Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

• Designed optical test cells using SolidWorks CAD to the specifications of aerospace and defense clients
• Generated part and assembly drawings for manufacturing following the ASME Y14.5 GD&T standard
• Performed static and modal FEA to validate designs against client requirements and suggest simulation-driven improvements

Kingston, Ontario, Canada

• Developed and tested innovative FEA-based algorithms for structural optimization and generative design
• Published algorithms in two peer-reviewed journals and presented at the SAE and ASME conferences
• Thoroughly documented background theory and code functionality to train clients on using the software
• Performed meshing, structural FEA, optimization and post-processing using HyperWorks to inform the design of multi-material chassis components for GM Canada
• Validated performance of an in-house CAE tool by automating a parameter study of 1000+ FEA runs

Kingston, Canada

• Mentored students in design for additive manufacturing to succeed in their 3D printed gearbox design project
• Verified CAD designs, prepared models using “slicer” software, and manufactured 200+ parts
• Operated several 3D printers on a 24/7 timeline for 2 weeks to ensure students had their parts in time for testing

Oshawa, Ontario, Canada

• Completed structural analysis of full-vehicle systems using HyperMesh and OptiStruct FEA to measure performance, identify failure points, and suggest design improvements
• Developed an FEA-based generative design tool and methodology to inform lightweight material selection
• Leveraged FEA and structural optimization tools to develop truck cross-member concept designs which achieved 25% weight savings while also considering trade-offs in manufacturing costs
• Created NX CAD models and refined designs to ensure manufacturability via casting and stamping
• Performed static stress analysis of a suspension mount using ABAQUS non-linear FEA to verify new designs
• Presented novel optimization tools to global engineering leads, advancing the lightweight design process

Kingston, Ontario, Canada

• Led senior members of the team in the mechanical design of a Mars rover. Finished 2nd in North America at the University Rover Challenge
• Designed and built a new, low-cost, rapid prototype robotic arm enabling quicker design iterations
• Executed end-to-end development cycle from SolidWorks CAD concept, component selection and manufacturing, and final integration and testing within the rover system
• Fabricated electro-mechanical systems in a machine shop and conducted testing/troubleshooting
• Organized and ran weekly meetings to delegate tasks, review designs, and set project milestones

Kingston, Ontario, Canada

• Guided mechanical design team in building a Mars rover prototype for annual competition
• Organized weekly meetings and design reviews in order to monitor the progress of project teams
• Leveraged 3D printing for both rapid prototyping of designs and to produce functional final parts
• Designed and built a soil collecting auger assembly capable of taking on site soil samples as well as temperature and PH measurements
• Created a sealed soil sample storage mechanism allowing the rover to automatically store up to eight separate samples to be brought back for lab testing
• Ensured team worked safely while fabricating parts in the machine shop

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

• Built an experiment for semiconductor wafer temperature monitoring to ensure quality during manufacturing
• Analyzed test data to generate accurate temperature measurement curves
• Designed custom opto-mechanical components using SolidWorks. Generated 2D dimensioned drawings and production orders for manufacturing the components
• Characterized and tested various optical elements, photodetectors and lab equipment to optimize the experiment’s signal to noise ratio
• Integrated lab equipment via LabVIEW for data collection

Master Of Applied Science - Masc, Mechanical Engineering

Thesis: “Multi-Material and Multi-Joint Topology Optimization of 3D Structures” Structural and Multidisciplinary Systems Design Lab.

Bachelor Of Applied Science - Basc, Engineering Physics (Mechanical Option)