Product Development Engineering Manager

Location:

Phoenix, AZ, 85003

Posted:

January 23, 2025

Contact this candidate

Resume:

Kenneth Stanevich

Former SpaceX Top Mechanical Product Development Engineering Manager with 20 patents.

***.*@*****.***

858-***-****

Cross-industry engineering department and business management experience including start-ups. Wide Technical Expertise.

Authorized to work in the US for any employer

Links

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kenneth-stanevich-49b19912

http://www.empod.com/portfolio

Work Experience

Sr. Staff Mechanical Engineer

Aerovironment - Simi Valley, CA November 2022 to present

• Develop tests and test fixtures for JPL / NASA's Mars Helicopter to be launched in 2026.

• Head-up wiring design of Mars helicopter; responsibilities: integrating the various vehicle teams' ongoing connection requirements, minimizing mass and assuring manufacturability of resulting wire harnesses.

Sr. Staff Engineer

SPACEX – Hawthorne, CA and Starbase, TX

December 2020 to October 2022

• Hired as corporate subject matter expert for connectors and harnessing

• Started new connector development group for Starship Mars vehicles

• Recruited, hired, trained, and mentored Engineering staff

• Replaced COTS MIL-Spec connectors with in-house designs saving 70%

• Developed and trained staff in 50% cost reducing new cable harness procedures

• Championed advanced 3D printing strategy to expedite development cycle

• Tested, validated, and qualified connectors for Starship Mars vehicles

• Built in-house connector supply chain

• Designed, equipped, build, and staffed build line for new connectors and harnesses

Director, Product Development & Operations

EMPOD PROTOTYPES, INC - San Diego, CA

December 2017 to December 2020

• Developed low profile high-speed back-plane launched 80GHz twinax connector for Molex

• Developed Stalk assembly for 2024 Ford F-150 using CAD, FEA, & 3D Printing

• Performed validation testing on connector set for FCA (Chrysler) shift-by-wire system

• Developed and administered quality plans for 5MM / year connectors for FCA

• Engineered and prototyped many dozens of automotive, electronic, and consumer products

• Negotiate purchase of injection-molds, stamping dies and die cast tooling

Senior Staff Engineer

SMITHS INTERCONNECT - Costa Mesa, CA

June 2015 to December 2017

• Recruited for leadership, on-boarding, mentoring, coaching, and communication skills

• Engineer responsible for high speed connectors aboard International Space Station

• Contributed connector expertise to Orion Space Mission team

• Engineered high-voltage, EMP / surge suppressing, data connectors for aerospace customers

• Designed, tested and released equivalent performance MIL-Spec connector with 50% fewer components iiiiand lower cost for rail application

• Engineered a high-voltage, high power (2000 amp) solution for fast charging

• Designed, built, and performed testing of field repair kit for US Missile Defense Administration saving

company over $2.5MM

• Developed and executed Windchill-based Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) procedures,

replacing weekly design reviews, doubling release throughput

• Awarded patent ruggedizing unsealed connectors from moisture

Engineering Manager

AUTOSPLICE INC - San Diego, CA

June 2014 to February 2015

• Brought leadership, strategy, technical drive, and an entrepreneurial vision honed at 'Empod' with

consistent policies to a rookie engineering team, halving key project lead-times

• Provided advocacy and mentoring for engineers engaging customers

• Taught engineering fundamentals courses including materials (copper alloys and polymers)

processing and geometric tolerancing (GD&T)

• Delivered a cost-reduction program based on cost analysis / materials amalgamation strategy

• Lead engineering implementation of IQMS product data management (PDM) system

• Negotiated global contract for SolidWorks CAD software, training, and installation

• Patent Pending

Engineering & Operations Director

EMPOD CORP. - Saint Charles, IL

August 1998 to June 2014

• Built product development consultancy with CAD (SolidWorks, Pro-E), FEA (Finite Element Analysis), SI

(Signal Integrity), and testing capability

• Grew 7-digit sales adding 3-D printing, CNC prototyping, tooling, molding, stamping, die-casting, &

assembly

• Secured engineering & manufacturing contracts from Fortune 500 customers

• Developed & executed corporate growth strategy that included:

• Stage gated new product development process

• 100+ product technology roadmap

• Brokered University research partnerships

• Supplied mechatronics products for media and worldwide auto shows

• Expanded into Automotive, Electronics, Medical, Housewares, Consumer Products, and Aerospace

markets

• Managed a global supply chain (C-PAT, NAFTA, Web EDI)

• Managed Empod® brand

• Implemented ethical accounting, talent management & operations policies

• Formally trained Sales staff

Manager, New Connector Development Engineering

IDEAL INDUSTRIES INC - Sycamore, IL

January 1996 to August 1998

• Invoked cross-discipline development teams

• Drove product development plan resulting in >$1MM competitor take-away sales

• Provided technical expertise on sales presentations

• Implemented FEA and other technologies to cut product development time by 50% and 1st major

new product in >8 years

• Contributed technical and product expertise in legal depositions

• Awarded multiple patents

Senior Staff Engineer

ZF/ TRW-AUTOMOTIVE ELECTRONICS DIV. - Farmington Hills, MI

December 1995 to January 1996

• Managed debugging of $2.2MM mobile electronics robotic assembly line increasing throughput by

300%

• Partnered with MIT haptics lab to characterize tactile parameters of window switches, resulting in

use by Ford Motor Company luxury models, extending sales by years

• Awarded patents in manufacturing, sensors, and controllers

Mechanical Design Manager

ROBERTSHAW / SEIBE CORP., SIMICON DIV. - Holland, MI

April 1992 to December 1994

• Managed million dollar engineering budget and 9 person staff

• Researched, selected, and implemented use of Mentor Graphics EDA system and HFSS (SI) software

• Automated PCB design along with training resulted in overall 100% productivity increase and

improved SPICE integration

• Researched and corrected major plastic failure mode

Engineering Manager

MOLEX / CARDELL CORPORATION - Auburn Hills, MI

November 1991 to April 1992

• Hired, trained, developed procedures, and coached new product development group that would

ultimately become Molex Automotive

• Established policies driving accelerated product launch schedules

Engineering Supervisor

TE CONNECTIVITY / AUGAT-ALTAIR - Mount Clemens, MI

November 1988 to November 1991

• Recruited for industry knowledge in very-fine detail copper alloy parts, electrical contact

physics, optimization / miniaturization of spring structures, environmental sealing, and design for

manufacturability (DFM)

• Managed product development teams in Michigan, Switzerland, and Germany that included

international travel to Europe, one which took 1st place in Ford and Chrysler design competitions

• Cut molding cost 50% implementing ultrasonic welding and material cost 30% using FEA

• Awarded multiple patents

• Promoted to Engineering Supervisor January 1990

Product Engineer

MOLEX INC - Lisle, IL

June 1985 to November 1988

• Patented improved High Speed SIMM Sockets for IBM and Apple Computer

• Engineered card edge connectors for Atari video system and looming PCI standard

• Researched high-temperature materials for surface mount connector

• Researched & Qualified Liquid Crystal Polymers for connectors

• Specialized in very-fine detail parts, high-temperature plastics, electrical contact physics, and the

optimization / miniaturization of spring structures using finite element analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree program in Mechanical Engineering

University Of Illinois at Chicago - Chicago, IL

August 1982 to June 1985

Associate's degree in Engineering

Morton College - Cicero, IL

1980 to 1982

Continuing Education in Marketing

Northern Illinois University

2001 to 2003

Continuing Education in Business

Michigan State University

1989 to 1994

Certifications/Licenses

Cert of Completion: Kepner-Tregoe

June 1994 to Present

Root-Cause Analysis, 5P, 8D, Questioning to the void to seek solutions

SPC I

September 1985 to Present

Dr, Jeffrey Luftig, PhD. Statistical Process Control 40 hr course.

SPCII

July 1985 to Present

Dr, Jeffrey Luftig, PhD. Statistical Process Control 40 hr course.

SPCIII

August 1985 to Present

Dr, Jeffrey Luftig, PhD. Statistical Process Control 40 hr course.

DFM/A (Boothroyd-Dewhurst)

February 1990 to Present

Design For Manufacturability and Design For Assembly

DOE (Design Of Experiments)

September 1985 to Present

Dr. Jeffery Luftig

Plastic Design Conference

October 1990 to Present

2 CEUs

SPC Level I

September 1989 to Present

Project Management

July 1994 to Present

0.6 CEUs Fred Pryor

IEEE Intensive Course on Electrical Contacts

June 1995 to Present

The Principles of Electrical Contacts: Theory and Application

Chicago June 12-16, 1995

EN ISO 14001:2004

January 2008 to January 2011

DQS Gmbh

ISO / TS 16949:2009

November 2011 to November 2014

ISO 9001:2008

November 2011 to November 2014

SPC Level II

July 1990 to Present

Introduction to PATRAN Plus

April 1989 to Present

Certificate Of Registration, Principal Register: EMPOD

September 1999 to September 2028

Trademark

DFM / Cost Reduction

February 1992 to Present

Michigan State University

Basic Jump Training Course

September 1979 to Present

Hinckley Parachute Center

Skills

• Solidworks (10+ years) • Product Development (10+ years) • AutoCAD (10+ years)

• IQMS (1 year) • Clarizen (Program Management) (3 years) • Lean Six Sigma (10+ years)

• Program Management (Fred Pryor) (10+ years) • Salesforce (3 years)

• Plastics Design (Glen Beall) (10+ years) • Creo / ProE (10+ years) • Windchill (3 years)

• Electrical Contact Physics (Holme Conferences, IEEE) (10+ years)

• Abaqus FEA (Training @ Brown University) (7 years) • Lean (5 years) • 6-Sigma (5+ years)

• Injection Molding (10+ years) • Medical Device (5 years) • Aerospace (3 years)

• Machining (10+ years) • Tooling (10+ years) • CNC (10+ years) • Continuous Improvement (10+ years)

• CAD (10+ years) • ISO Certification (10+ years) • PPAP (10+ years) • Lean Manufacturing (10+ years)

• Microsoft Office (10+ years) • Statistical Process Control / SPC (10+ years)

• Software Development (10+ years) • Mechanical Design (10+ years)

• Finite Element Analysis / FEA (10+ years) • Mechanical Engineering Experience (10+ years)

• GD&T (10+ years) • MATLAB (2 years) • Mathcad (10+ years)

• Fabrication (10+ years) • Supply Chain (10+ years) • Manufacturing (10+ years)

• Product Management (10+ years) • Project Planning (10+ years) • Project Leadership (10+ years)

• APQP (10+ years) • Operations Management (10+ years) • 5S (10+ years)

• Forecasting (10+ years) • Agile (10+ years) • Microsoft Office (10+ years)

• P&L • Exec Mgmnt. • Mentoring • Cross-Discipline Team Building • International Contracts

• Manufacturing Management • Engineering Management • C-PAT • Import / Export

• Logistics • TS16949 • ISO9001 • Training • Inventions / Patents • Proposals • Budgets (10+ years)

• CAD • ECAD • FEA • Mold-Flow Analysis • Boothroyd Dewhurst (DFM/DFA)

• Stamping & Metalforming Design • Aluminum Die Casting)

• Small Office / Back Office IT Management • Guerrilla & "Conventional" Marketing

• Mechanical Engineering (10+ years) • Schematics (10+ years) • Root Cause Analysis (10+ years)

Groups

Society Of Automotive Engineers

November 1982 to Present

Student Chapter President 1983-1984

Society Of Plastics Engineers

August 1992 to July 1998

Board Of Directors 1997-1998

Society Of Manufacturing Engineers

July 1995 to June 1997

Assistant Scoutmaster Troop 2 Sycamore, IL & Charter Organization Rep

2005 to 2014

Porsche Club Of America

June 2014 to Present

Sports Car Club Of America

June 1980 to May 1990

Mensa

September 1996 to Present

Patents

Switch apparatus for a driver information interface (#US6907328)

https://patents.google.com/patent/US6907328B2/en?oq=6907328

June 2005

An interface includes a base with locking flanges for securing the base to a second structure within a

vehicle. A plurality of switch caps are pivotably supported on the base and extend through apertures

formed in the base. Each switch cap has a first surface and a second surface such that pressure applied to one of the first surface and the second surface causes limited rocking motion of the switch

cap and actuation of a corresponding momentary contact switch.

Insulation displacement connector (#US6312282)

https://patents.google.com/patent/US6312282B1/en?oq=6312282

December 2001

An insulation displacement connector has a plastic housing including a cover hinged to a case with a

conductive clip mounted to the interior surface of the cover. Mechanical latches on the cover and case

provide a pre-latch feature during installation of wires and prevent the easy opening of the housing

after it has been closed. The housing has funnel-shaped wire entry openings with pre-closure retention

members for holding wires inserted into a still open connector. The conductive clip has a base and

tines extending from the base. The tines are arranged to impinge on the conductors in a plane normal

to the axis of the conductors. The tines are coined to act as a knife edge to reduce the cutting force.

The conductive clip's base is mounted such that the closing forces are distributed and the clip will

break loose from the cover if an attempt is made to reopen the connector.

Rotary valve (#US5848611)

https://patents.google.com/patent/US5848611A/en?oq=5848611

December 1998

A valve (10) for applying vacuum to selected ones of a plurality of vacuum-operated devices (B-F) in

a vehicle includes a valve core (30) which is rotatable in a valve sleeve (20) between a plurality of

predetermined rotational positions. A plurality of circumferentially spaced passages (60a-60f) extend

axially in the valve sleeve (20). Each passage (60b-60f) has a first end portion (66b-66f) for connection

with a respective one of the devices (B-F) and a second end portion (68a-68f) which is selectively

connectable with the vacuum port (44a). A vacuum port (44a) on the valve sleeve (20) is connected

with a vacuum source (V) in the vehicle. A control groove (82) on the outer periphery (80) of the valve

core (30) is in fluid communication with the vacuum port (44a) when the valve core (30) is in the

predetermined rotational positions.

Sensor unit with shell structure having a detent structure (#US5764057)

https://patents.google.com/patent/US5764057A/en?oq=5764057

June 1998

A sensor unit (110) for use with a vehicle component housing (16) includes an electrical sensor

assembly (12) and a sensor shell (14). The sensor assembly (12) has an inner portion (64) with an

electrical pickup (20) which is electrically responsive to a condition inside the housing (16). The

sensor assembly (12) further has an outer portion (30) with a pair of electrodes (24) for connection

in an electrical circuit. The shell (14) has an installed position in which it supports the inner portion

(64) of the sensor assembly (12) inside the housing (16) and supports the outer portion (30) of the

sensor assembly (12) outside the housing (16). A detent structure (90-94) on the shell (14) snaps

into interlocked engagement with the housing (16) upon movement of the shell (14) to the installed

position.

Connector and method for sealed pass-through of insulated electrical

conductors (#US5170017)

https://patents.google.com/patent/US5170017A/en?oq=5170017

December 1992

A connector for passing continuous insulated electrical conductors such as pins or multi-stranded wire

through a surface or bulkhead, while preventing leakage of liquids and gases along the conductors,

especially between gaps in the strands. An exemplary connector comprises a body having seal-zone

openings in which a sealant is applied and cured around a compressed bared section of multi-stranded

wire. The body contains strain relief members adjacent to the sealed openings to provide longitudinal

as well as transverse strain relief. A sealant member and radially spaced clasps are located around

the sealed openings and strain relief members so that the connector may be removably twist-locked

onto a bulkhead without disturbing the sealed wires. A method is defined for achieving the sealed

passthrough of electrical conductors.

Dual usage electrical/electronic pin terminal system (#US5135417)

https://patents.google.com/patent/US5135417A/en?oq=5135417

August 1992

An exemplary terminal system comprises a pin-receiving member having a lead-in for receiving a pin

shaped contact, a signal transfer zone located a first distance from the lead-in, and a power transfer

zone located a second distance from the signal transfer zone. The signal transfer zone is preferably

defined by opposed bumps plated in gold. The power transfer zone is preferably annular in cross

section, so as to present a large contact area, and tin-plated. The system is therefore useful for either

signal transfer or power transfer applications.

High deflection, high density single sided electrical connector (#US4960386)

https://patents.google.com/patent/US4960386A/en?oq=4960386

October 1990

This specification discloses a zero or low insertion force single or multiple contact electrical connector

with single sided spring contacts with inherent high deflection contact capability upon insertion

of a printed circuit board into the connector. The connector comprises a plurality of spring single

sided contacts generally rectangularly shaped mounted in slots formed along an elongated cavity

in a connector housing. Each contact pair includes a single sided deflectable contacting portion for

engaging the conductive strips disposed on opposite sides of the insertable edge of the printed circuit

board. The opposed contacting portions define an opening through which the edge of the printed

circuit board may be inserted in the cavity with zero or low insertion force.

Low insertion force, low board stress electrical connector (#US4957448)

https://patents.google.com/patent/US4957448A/en?oq=US4957448

September 1990

This specification discloses a low-insertion-force connector for connecting a daughter printed circuit

board to a mother board. A G- or U-shaped contact is disposed in a housing so that spring arms

penetrate opposing sides of the cavity. Mating ramp surfaces and latches on latch arms center the

connector in the housing and urge contact pads into electrical and mechanical contact with a base

circuit board. Shrouds on the housing protect various portions of the connector from harmful contact

with the edge of a printed circuit board when being mounted in the housing.

Connector and method for sealed pass-through of insulated electrical

conductors (#EP0499533B1)

https://patents.google.com/patent/EP0499533B1/en?oq=EP0499533B1

September 1996

The invention relates to the field of electrical connectors, and more particularly to a pass-through

connector and method for passing insulated electrical conductors such as pins or multi-stranded wires

through a surface or bulkhead.

Low insertion force, low board stress electrical connector (#EP0423970B1)

https://patents.google.com/patent/EP0423970B1/en?oq=EP0423970B1

June 1995

This invention relates to electrical connectors for making electrical connections to printed circuit

boards. More particularly, this invention relates to zero or low insertion force electrical connectors for

making electrical connections to conductive strips mounted along the edges of printed circuit boards.

ADAPTER FRAME FOR AN ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR (#US6,062,893)

https://patents.google.com/patent/US6062893A/en?oq=6%2c062%2c893

May 2000

A Stamped and formed metal adapter frame is provided for mounting an electrical connector in an

aperture in a panel. The frame includes a receptacle portion positionable in the aperture in the panel

for receiving the electrical connector.

BALL AND SOCKET JOINT (#US5,755,526)

https://patents.google.com/patent/US5755526A/en?oq=5%2c755%2c526

May 1998

The present invention is a ball and socket joint comprising a socket having a chamber and a ball stud

including a ball end. The ball end is movable relative to the socket in a first direction into the chamber

in the socket. The socket has first portions engageable with the ball end for blocking rotation of the

ball end about a first axis during movement of the ball end into the chamber. The ball and socket

joint includes means for rotating the ball end in the chamber relative to the socket about the first axis

after the ball is located in the chamber into an operating position in which the ball end is rotatable

about second and third axes extending transverse to the first axis. The socket has second portions

engageable with the ball end for blocking movement of the ball end out of the chamber when the ball

end is in the operating position in the chamber.

Connector and method for sealed pass-through of insulated electrical

conductors (#CA2061243C)

https://patents.google.com/patent/CA2061243C/en?oq=CA2061243C

February 1992