Manufacturing Engineer Operations Manager

Christoph WALTI, MIS

Cypress, CA, *****

******@*****.*** (c) 714-***-**** https://www.linkedin.com/in/christophwalti/ Clearance: Secret (T-3, July 2021)

California Explosives Lic. #58999 exp. 26 Feb 2025 Many times, during my 45-year career I have been confronted with unanticipated personnel situations or technical challenges. For all I have found a successful solution by tactfully applying my soft skills or developing creative out of the box-thinking-solutions. Many of my skills and experiences are transferable that can apply to new tasks and assignments. I am looking for a new challenge, I will never stop learning. TOOLING / MANUFACTURING / PROJECT / ENGINEER OPERATIONS LEADER Extensive experience as Composite and Large Air Frame Tooling Operations Manager and Manufacturing Engineer achieving process improvements and cost reductions. Easy interaction with all stakeholders. Able to apply DFMAT principles during tool design phase and first article test runs. Provide technical guidance and mentor tool engineers and analysts. Coordinate all available resources required to build, upgrade and repair tools needed to assemble large airframes. Have Big Picture understanding, technically broad skilled. Analytical and critical thinker with the ability to interface with leaders, colleagues, and reports.

CORE COMPETENCIES

Good soft skills, will competently interface 360 deg, with leaders, professionals, techs. GD&T Root Cause Analysis Failure Mode & Effects Analysis – FMEA Design for Manufacturability & Testing (DFMAT) creative, result oriented thinker. Flexible and adaptive to any situation.

KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• Lead C-17 tooling teams through the build, upgrade, repair and maintenance of large assembly tools.

• Took after hour classes for jet-engine (turbo-motor) operation and functionality.

• Building and maintaining productive relationships lateral and vertical for 30+ years.

• Leveraged LEAN principles and ergo features to specialized fixtures to assure safety to the workforce.

• Cleared obstructed aircraft move path by applying unconventional methods, with time to spare.

• Transformed experimental seal-material make process to full production scale, exceeding output goal by 50% while coming in way below cost estimates.

• Adjusted and refined process flow and allowable parameters for (quality, timeliness, efficiency, and cycle time), resulting in overall performance improvement.

• Directed exchange of the fail-safe cylinders on C-17 hanging tail work stand, completing more than 80% of work in 25% of time allotted, the union represented crew really stepped up! EXPERIENCE

Lockheed Martin ADP, Palmdale, CA 2021 2024

Sr. Project Engineer 3

Assess current production processes and sequences. Look for streamline opportunities and document all relevant assembly steps for process consistency and repeatability. Identified critical path and pulled subassembly work as far to the left as possible, reducing build time, streamlining critical path.

• Led deconstruction and re-build processes of articles, directly interfacing with touch labor individuals. (When working prototype, rework is a given.)

• Created work instructions (SOW) to build aero vehicles in a controlled environment.

• Coordinated all access and resources to remote sites and work execution.

• I was cleared to three hypersonic programs, one of it I completely closed down all off-site actions and prepped remaining tooling and ancillary gear for final customer disposition.

• Direct interface with Air Force / DARPA, and all parties affected for a successful offsite operation.

• Coordinated large energetics shipment, receiving, storage, and delivery to final build location. General Atomics, Adelanto, CA 02/2019 - 10/2020

Sr. Staff Manufacturing Engineer 5

Directed manufacturing, R&D and repair processes. Supported high priority, one-off products that fast-tracked through the system. Provided guidance and mentoring for young engineers and technicians.

• Led new repair process on UAV tails that saved ~$55,000 per tail, critical analysis saved add’l $60,000+ in repairs. Identified new prosses to locate repaired parts properly using Blue-Light scanning.

• Identified best size of test coupon ‘slabs’ and construction method for unspecified future testing procedures.

• Assisted in the repair of composite UAVs after they had been damaged including repaint and LO coating repairs as required.

Northrop Grumman, Palmdale, CA 10/2016 – 03/2017

Tool Design Engineering Manager

Led Palmdale and El Segundo tool design teams. Controlled shop load, priorities, and coordinated unique program silos that do not interface.

• Maintained sustaining budget boundaries and balanced priorities vs. budget availability. EVMS principles were applied.

• Identified staffing needs and requirements. Interviewed and on-boarded candidates The Boeing Company, Charleston, SC 06/2012 – 10/2016 Tooling Manager

Led 1st shift crane crew and tooling for Final Assembly and Delivery of 787. Delivered components into position for production operations. Managed 2nd shift move team for shipping and receiving of large aircraft components. Coached employees, motivated and mentored them to excel.

• Repaired and maintained special application composite tooling used in the manufacture of all carbon composite fuselage 787 (Dreamliner) AFT section.

• Applied DFMAT concept when tooling arrived from vendors needing to be brought on-line and requiring modifications to function as intended.

• Assisted in AFT fuselage pre-preg fiber layup and integration and build up. Johnson Services Group, Burr Ridge, IL 01/2012 – 06/2012 Tooling Integration Analyst

Assigned to Boeing’s 787 Aft Body operations in North Charleston, SC. Performing tooling support functions from creating tool orders identifying critical path work to employees. BalSeal Engineering, Foothill Ranch, CA 01/2010 – 01/2011 Senior Manufacturing Engineer

Provided process and ergonomic improvements. Identified streamlining 5S and lean targets. Analyzed root cause, creating practical solutions. Trained employees relevant to the process. Interacted with CNC operators to optimize set- ups. Added FANUC wire EDM and digital video inspection process. RELEVANT EXPERIENCE

McDonnell Douglas, Boeing, Long Beach, CA 06/1986 – 10/2009 Tooling Engineer and Manager

• Directed all aspects of hard tooling, construction, repair, maintenance, and process adherence of C-17 production tooling on 1st, 2nd, and 3rd shifts. Engineers, Tool makers, Hydro Electronic techs, Welders.

• Assisted techs in troubleshooting of automated tooling such as C-17 cargo floor machining / drilling, then run the operation and evaluate performance gains.

• Lead Ground Support Equipment (GSE) team providing means to function subsystems, flaps, slats, MLG, NLG… General Electric, Lynn, MA 07/1984 – 05/1986

Tool Designer

• Designed tooling and fixtures for the manufacture of turbo motors.

• Signed up for after hour classes for jet-engine (turbo-motor) operation and functionality.

• Created specialty cutting tools / geometries for high grade alloys like Inconel, Rene 41 and Titanium. Aster Eng, Middleton, MA 03/1984 – 07/1984

CNC Operator

• Cut T-700 Inconel combustion liners and Sikorsky forged Titanium mast heads. EDUCATION

Master of Science, Information Systems (MIS), University of Phoenix, AZ, GPA 3.79 03/2005 Bachelor of Science, Information Technology (BSIT), University of Phoenix, AZ, GPA 3.78 11/2007 Completed 4-year Tool and Die Maker Apprenticeship, Switzerland 1978 - 1982 including 3-year (concurrent) college level vocational classroom training (Berufs Mittel Schule, Chur) CERTIFICATES TRAINING

• Project Management - Planning Scheduling and Control Techniques, University of California Irvine (University Extension), Long Beach, CA

• Aerospace Manufacturing Engineering Certificate CSU-Long Beach, CA

• Quality Manager and Quality Auditor Certificates, CSU-Dominguez Hills, CA

• Managing Stress and Accelerating Success, Dale Carnegie, Long Beach, CA TECHNICAL SKILLS

• Proficient with MS Office Suite applications (Word, Excel, Power Point, Project, Visio, Outlook)

• Understanding of SAP, MES, MESci, Solumina, Windchill, … ADDITIONAL SKILLS

• Understanding physics and sciences to evaluate non-conformance conditions and recommend corrective action procedures.

• Experience with Design Manufacturing Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (xFMEA / DFMA).

• Good understanding of welding processes such as resistance, friction, stick, MIG, TIG welding and brazing.

• Skilled at extracting data, analyzing and generating reports for higher management, maintaining Process Based Management (PBM)

• Understand Gage R&R as measuring tool to assess process stability and variation trends.

• Established parameters for process improvement goals.

• Coordinated multiple shifts of represented and exempt employees resulting in improved productivity, maximum efficiency, and reduced time requirements.

• Expertise in directing, mentoring, and training for team building to develop a highly effective team of skilled trades’ men.

• Led implementation and training of ISO9000, ISO9001, AS9100 and ISO14001 assuring that procedures were adhered to.

• Motivated and Inspired work groups through ‘Employee Involvement’ (EI Stage 4).

• Proactive conflict resolution with all personnel (UAW and IOUE).

• Strong analytical abilities and creative approaches to problem solving.

• Excellent leadership and communication skills in cross functional environment.

• Trained and developed employees and leads who then in turn trained employees, in safety, process, policy, and procedural matters.

• Led budget meetings interpret data, analyze trends, and conclude results / future trends.

• Skilled at assembling ROIs to justify leaner more efficient approaches to manufacturing processes. Attached are a few pictures of the 787 AFT body and the full center fuse movement. Please do not distribute beyond necessary stakeholders. I did have a camera pass and many of these pictures were sent to Boeing leadership as part of

'Story Telling' and shift reports. (AFP pictures are www-sourced) I was in Charleston, SC with Boeing's 787 when two of the partners failed. Boeing was forced to take over their operations. I was tasked to set-up a tooling and support group for the fabrication and integration of the AFT-body, for the second and third shift. Additionally, I volunteered to run the shipping and receiving group that handled all the subassemblies that were delivered to Charleston or sent to Everett, WA. I was leading a Tiger-Team completely revamping the dept that was receiving all the large subassemblies off the Dreamlifter cargo craft and shipping -8 and -9 fuselages to Everett. At Lockheed Martin in Palmdale, CA, I established and planned out the Critical Path for the production of our article. I then was assigned to coordinate all off-site activities. We built the article in Palmdale but much of the testing and all propulsion build-up has to be done at AFRL in the desert. I coordinated all the energetics receiving and storage between the independent trucks and the munitions group. I provided access to the traveling engineering group from MFC in Texas building upf the propulsion stages. I provided access and equipment for the local engineering testing team as well as DARPA, USAF, the 'landlord, facilities... After the program concluded I was tasked with the full shut- down of the off-site location and preparation for the next occupant. I coordinated with all stakeholders, and once I had a full buy-in I closed the shop within three days. (Classified program, sorry, no pictures). 787-10 AFT body, first article, proof for production. Troubleshooting and production training. (Note the tooling lead in hi-vis vest, center of picture.)

787-10 mandrel assembly and check for size, roundness and skew. 787-10 mandrel manipulator, assembling six segments to a full mandrel. Finger carts for assembly and integration (left). Mandrel carts (right). Fiber wrapped mandrels are being prepped for caul installation, vacuum bag, and autoclave.

-8 / -9 mandrel being wrapped in AFP (Advanced Fiber Placement) Machine. Prepreg fiber being applied. An infra-red lamp pre-heats the fibers before placement for added stickiness. Integration of -8 / -9 AFT body (47 Section)

787-9 fuselage with 12' PVC extensions to simulate 787-10 length. This simulation is proof-of-concept for the transportation of the body and identifying obstacles and path interference. (We found a good number of features needing to be modified.

Integrated

stringer design. Very complex set-up with inflated bladders during the autoclave process to prevent structural collapse.

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