Projects & Experiences

R&D Mechanical Engineer - Composite Engineer
April 2024 – Present / Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), Devens, MA, USA.

  • Led day-to-day operations of the Composites Lab, managing schedules, test plans, resource allocation, and cross-functional communication across design, materials, and manufacturing teams.

  • Coordinated multi-phase engineering projects including specimen preparation, VPI processing, cryogenic mechanical qualification, and structural validation, ensuring on-time execution and alignment with program milestones.

  • Owned risk identification and mitigation for insulation system development—evaluating failure modes, manufacturing variability, process deviations, and testing uncertainties; maintained risk logs and communicated mitigation plans during technical reviews.

  • Managed cross-functional collaboration between design, analysis, materials, test engineering, and external vendors to ensure requirements, test readiness, and acceptance criteria were well understood and consistently met.

  • Developed process–structure correlations and translated technical findings into clear recommendations for design changes, test plans, and manufacturing adjustments—supporting risk retirement and design justification.

  • Prepared and delivered technical reports, review packages, and analysis summaries for CDR, TRR, and program leadership, highlighting constraints, risks, test outcomes, and decision drivers.

  • Led simulation-to-test correlation projects, ensuring numerical predictions matched experimental data and providing confidence for design decisions under high-load, cryogenic environments.

  • Established documentation and workflow standards using Confluence, Jira, Epsilon3, and structured reporting templates, improving traceability, reproducibility, and communication across engineering teams.

Composite Manufacturing Engineer
Feb 2023 – Feb 2024 / Linamar, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

  • Led requirements reviews for new composite components, aligning technical, numerical, and experimental needs with manufacturability, cost, and program constraints.

  • Served as Principal Investigator (PI) for multiple government-funded R&D programs (TMU, NRC Canada), managing timelines, deliverables, stakeholder communication, and reporting for high-pressure composite vessel development.

  • Coordinated design, simulation, and manufacturing teams to develop and optimize composite architectures, ensuring technical feasibility and alignment with project performance requirements.

  • Supported program decision-making by translating simulation results, material models, and test findings into clear engineering recommendations and risk-based design adjustments.

  • Maintained a structured simulation and manufacturing database, enabling traceability, repeatability, and documentation control across multiple builds and test cycles.

  • Generated engineering specifications and configuration documents, ensuring that requirements, assumptions, and structural analyses were clearly documented and approved.

  • Identified technical risks throughout the development lifecycle, assessed their impact on design and manufacturability, and contributed to proactive mitigation strategies and process improvements.

Research Associate / PostDoc - Composite Structures & Simulation
Oct 2018 – Jan 2024 / Dep. of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.

  • Developed novel computational tools (LS-DYNA, MATLAB) for design and optimization of high-performance composite energy-absorbing structures for EV applications.

  • Conducted comparative studies of HP-RTM vs. LCM processes funded by NSERC and AMC Ontario, integrating permeability modeling, forming behavior, and structural performance.

  • Performed mechanical testing of UD-NCF and carbon-fiber composites under high-loading rate and elevated-temperature conditions to support material model calibration.

  • Developed and implemented continuum-based constitutive models for high-rate composite behavior and validated them through matched experiments.

  • Designed and executed structural tests for CFRP components in collaboration with Honda R&D America, including quasi-static and dynamic crush testing.

  • Conducted literature reviews and technical assessments for NSERC Strategic Partnership and CRD grant applications.

  • Analyzed test data, prepared technical reports, and presented results to industrial partners including Honda R&D America, HEXION, and ZOLTEK.

Visiting Researcher - Composite Structures & Simulation
Jan 2017 – Dec 2017 / The Contacts and Structures Mechanics Laboratory (LaMCoS), INSA-Lyon, Lyon, France

  • Conducted meso-scale finite element analysis of textile composite reinforcements.

  • Performed 3D-DIC measurements for fatigue testing and deformation tracking.

  • Studied forming behavior and deformation mechanisms of woven and UD composite reinforcements.

Research Fellow
Jan 2015 – Sep 2018 / Dep. of ABC, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy

  • Managed a funded research project on advanced composite reinforcement design and manufacturing.

  • Developed a strategic research roadmap for composite design, forming, and application oriented manufacturing.

  • Built an optimization package (MATLAB) for calibrating custom VUMAT models for textile composite behavior.

MEMBERSHIP OF SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEES

Close-up of a sleek aircraft wing made from advanced composite materials.
Close-up of a sleek aircraft wing made from advanced composite materials.

  • Active member of Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE) Canada.

  • Active member of American Society for Composites.

  • Member of Italian Industry Association for Composite Materials.

  • Eligible for membership in a Canadian professional engineering association (Document Preparation for Professional Engineer Application in Canada - Plane to submit next month)

Contact

Reach out for custom composite solutions

Email

Mehdi.Ghazimoradi@gmail.com

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