Keith Becker's Engineering Resume Website

I am a professional engineer with special interests in Embedded Systems and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, who studied Mechanical Engineering at Vanderbilt University.

About Me

As an engineer, I have experience working with aeronautical PLC and pneumatic equipment, digital electronics and microcontrollers, PCB design, CAD, software and hardware programming, manufacturing and machining design, as well as web development. My experience includes designing products from concept to industrialization, full life-cycle design and project management.

I completed my Bachelor's degree from Vanderbilt in 2012. I took leadership roles such as a FIRST Robotics instructor, and was awarded 1st place for my team's senior design thesis.

Personally, I am a lover of engineering and science, and spend my free time on side projects, learning new skills, and getting into new hobbies.

One of my interests is the use of UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) and AUVs (Autonomous Underwater Vehicles) for environmental conservation and ecological research. My love for animals and the outdoors has always been with me. From the depths of marine science and diving, to the skies offered by being a private pilot, I am interested in the wide range of what the world has to offer!

Education

Vanderbilt University - Nashville, TN

2008 - 2012

Mechanical Engineering

FIRST Robotics Instructor

Thesis: “A Biomimetic Wing-Actuation Mechanism for Micro Aerial Vehicles.”
- 1st place at 2011 IMAV (International Micro-Aerial Vehicle) contest

Work Experience

Design Office Project Manager

2012 - 2016

Aerowing, Inc.Nashville, TN

Aerowing is an aerospace MRO company providing fuel tank leak detection and repair support to both U.S. military operations and commercial aircraft manufacturers.

My responsibilities included:

Electrical and pneumatic circuit design, PLC programming, CAD design (CATIA), presenting new products and optimizations to customers, writing specifications, budgets, safety, working with vendors, machining and mechanical design for manufacturing, documentation and technical manuals, aerospace-grade industrial processes and equipment, and high sensitivity equipment.

Application Engineer

2016 - 2018

Coilmaster Corporation Moscow, TN

Coilmaster is an OEM international provider of HVAC heat exchanger units and psychrometric testing for a variety of commercial and industrial customers. They build and manufacture refrigeration cycle products including condenser units and evaporator coils.

My responsibilities included:

Performance and cost optimization of heat exchanger circuitry and material design, advising clients on requirements and industrial scale projects, and CAD design for CAM and sheet metal manufacturing. I also worked closely with our manufacturing and machining facility to produce quality results.

Owner, Independent Contractor

2018 - Present

Vertex MemphisMemphis, TN

Began a freelance business where I continue to provide electrical engineering design and web development for customers worldwide. I developed my knowledge of electrical engineering and hardware programming and have used those skills to help the growing market of digital devices. Many of my projects include schematic and circuit design, embedded microcontroller firmware C++ programming, wireless connectivity, HMI design, and sensor hardware. I have also used this opportunity to work on UAV systems design.

Projects skills include:

Schematic and PCB design, embedded hardware systems and sensors, automation, web server integration, website development, Internet Of Things (IoT) devices, LCD and GUI interfaces, motor and power system design, UAV flight controller design, BLE wireless/RF communication, and hardware communication protocols.

Projects & Interests

Some examples of my professional and personal projects.

Click to view the paper (PDF)

Senior Design Project, Vanderbilt University - Nashville, TN

“A Biomimetic Wing-Actuation Mechanism for Micro Aerial Vehicles.”

1st place at 2011 IMAV (International Micro-Aerial Vehicle) contest
Abstract:

"We present a wing actuation mechanism and a prototype design for a flapping-wing micro air vehicle (MAV). The actuation design is based off of a two-wing system and features a single rotary motor and two sets of four-bar linkages, which allow the wings to flap and rotate around the wing-axis at the same time. A test rig and a two-wing prototype consisting of motor, linkage transmission, and flexible wings are constructed. High-speed imaging was used to analyze the instantaneous wing deformation. The frequency and force measurement were carried out."

Aircraft Pressure Test Unit (PTU), Aerowing - Nashville, TN

Concept: Designed as a leak detection system to bring ease and functionality as a Go/No Go test during MRO and production. The pressure test systems are used for verifying aircraft using a new method of pressure decay, reducing the need for intermediate soak checks. A report is generated at the end of each cycle for quality control.
Design: The unit is controlled by a 12” Unitronics PLC designed using Visilogic. CATIA was used for CAD modeling. Multiple high sensitivity pressure transducers, regulators, solenoids, and other pneumatic equipment are used for pressurization and control while injecting fuel tanks with gas.
Applications: The PTU uses compressed air and helium gas inputs for automated pressure decay tests and helium injection for selection ion pump detection on aircraft bladder cells, fuel tanks, and helicopter rotorblades.

Rapid Desealing System, Aerowing - Nashville, TN

Concept: A sealant removal solution involving a patented process that has been developed specifically for the aircraft industry to remove the intensive strain that maintainers undergo when removing adhesive materials.
Design: The RDS was designed using a compressed air reciprocating piston mechanism, thermoplastic attachment tips, and protective coating in order to mitigate vibration and noise.
Applications: A pneumatic hand tool which significantly improves the efficiency and strain associated with removing aircraft sealants and other adhesives from inside of fuel tanks, as well as the exterior structure of aircraft, composites, windows, etc.

Industrial Coffee Grinder, Vertex Design Studio - Memphis, TN

Concept: A first-of-its-kind internet connected industrial coffee grinder for shop owners and managers to increase productivity when selecting a variety of grind presets and other choices for their shop. It offers web-based analytics and user-programmable features.
Design: A touchscreen LCD on the grinder is the main user inferface. The package uses peripheral wireless devices such as remote scales and capacitive touch user controls. Bluetooth allows communication between the main board and remote devices along with WiFi for internet connectivity and data logging.

Contact Me

Please feel free to contact me via my email, phone, text or fill out the form below.

Technical Skills