Dhanapal Vittala Raya

Engineering Leader with 24+ years of experience in the commercial vehicle industry with solid background in Product Design & Development, Product life cycle management, Manufacturing support, Supplier interaction, Simulation & Testing, Product cost & weight optimization, Leadership and People Management experience.

Proficient in design and development of Commercial Vehicle Front and Rear Axles, Differential carriers, Hub reduction wheel end, Electric Axles and under chassis vehicle integration. Extensive experience in casting and forging components design and development. Successfully launched multiple projects from concept to production.

Engineering Manager, TRACTION | ACCELEAR BY CUMMINS, Troy, MI (Dec 2020 - till date) 

Responsibilities

• Lead team to effectively perform engineering analysis necessary for the production design, application and testing of axle/carrier components and systems. This will include the use of CAE tools. 
• Manage all aspects of engineering products according to customer requirements with focus on coordinating project timing, costs, test plans and prototype builds. 
• Establish good working relationships with team members, outside suppliers, customers, and various internal groups. 
• Provide leadership and mentoring for less experienced engineering staff. 
• Work with engineers and designers to release detailed drawing packages. 
• Interface with internal cross-functional and customer production vehicle teams on engineering. issues, cost reduction opportunities, and general customer satisfaction. 
• Identify, verify and implement solutions to warranty or quality problems that affect product performance. 
• Interface with internal cross-functional and customer production vehicle teams on engineering issues, cost reduction opportunities, and general customer satisfaction. 

Principal Engineer, Carrier Engineering | Meritor, Troy, MI (Sep 2018 - Nov 2020) 

Responsibilities

• Assure all projects adhere to the GP3 and engineering procedures.
• Train and guide less experienced engineers and designers.
• Conceptualize, design, and develop new product or product revisions in response to customer requirements, warranty issues, and/or value analysis efforts.
• Perform engineering calculations necessary for the application of these components and systems. Such calculations may include vehicle performance, certification to regulations, component stress and fatigue life, geometrical fit, and static and dynamic load calculations, etc.
• Define test programs - determine what product evaluation is required to qualify components for customer use.
• Oversee engineering projects, provide and maintain project timetables, establish testing requirements, determine and monitor project budgets and provide overall project direction and coordination.
• Devise solutions to problems encountered and make changes in methods, design or equipment where necessary.
• Support Meritor manufacturing facilities by providing technical guidance and making disposition of manufacturing variations.
• Interface with other functional areas to coordinate the development and release of new product or product revisions to assure a smooth and timely introduction into production.
• Identify, verify and implement solutions to warranty or quality claims for product, process, or performance problems.
• Provide technical input and services to the Meritor Field Organization, Aftermarket Service Parts, Original Equipment Manufacturers, Purchasing, Product Management, Sales and Marketing, vendors and Meritor joint ventures.

Sr Project Engineer, NA Axles / DMO | Meritor, Troy, MI (Oct 2012 - Aug 2018)

Responsibilities

• Assure all projects adhere to the C2C and engineering procedures.
• Conceptualize, design, and develop new product or product revisions in response to customer requirements, warranty issues, and/or value analysis efforts.
• Perform engineering calculations necessary for the application of these components and systems. Such calculations may include vehicle performance, certification to regulations, component stress and fatigue life, geometrical fit, and static and dynamic load calculations, etc.
• Define test programs - determine what product evaluation is required to qualify components for customer use.
• Oversee engineering projects, provide and maintain project timetables, establish testing requirements, determine and monitor project budgets and provide overall project direction and coordination.
• Devise solutions to problems encountered and make changes in methods, design or equipment where necessary.
• Support Meritor manufacturing facilities by providing technical guidance and making disposition of manufacturing variations.
• Interface with other functional areas to coordinate the development and release of new product or product revisions to assure a smooth and timely introduction into production.
• Identify, verify and implement solutions to warranty or quality claims for product, process, or performance problems.
• Provide technical input and services to the Meritor Field Organization, Aftermarket Service Parts, Original Equipment Manufacturers, Purchasing, Product Management, Sales and Marketing, vendors and Meritor joint ventures.

Team leader (Eu, SA, China & Data translation) | Meritor, Bangalore, INDIA (Aug 2001 - Sep 2012)

Responsibilities

• Managing a team of 11 Engineers. Develop and manage different groups within the team. Responsible for Europe, South America, China and Data translation teams in Bangalore. 
• Guide the team to achieve organizational goals, keep management updated about the team activities, guide the team in Design and Development of the product, and responsible for identifying training needs of the team members.
• Responsible to drive and implement quality system in the team, monitor the projects and keep customer updated about the progress, and drive the team members towards continuous improvement related activities. 
• Forecast and monitor budget. 
• Set goals for the team and members, review periodically and assess on the year end. 
• Plan for resources and effectively utilize the available resources. 
• Liaise with technical centers for all the issues. 
• Constantly expand services and market to appropriate centers.
• Responsible for Quality, TS16949 adherence and on time delivery of projects for the team.

List of significant products developed in cummins / meritor - Concept to Production:

• 14Xe Gen 3 Electric Axle, 14Xe Gen 2 e Axle, 14Xe Gen 1.5 e Axle design and development. 
• F550 differential carrier design and development.
• Mack HDT differential carrier design and development.
• 17x Evo carrier, 15x carrier and 18x carrier design and development.
• Hub reduction 5 planetary wheel end design.
• Albatross Hub reduction dress axle design and development (This includes cast housing design for both forward and rear Axles, Tandem carrier design and hub reduction wheel end design).
• MT150 Cast Axle housings and Stamped Axle housing design and development for wide and narrow track.
• 17x Air suspension and Leaf suspension Cast housing design and development. 
• Volvo PNG housings design and development. 
• IVECO 17x Air and Leaf suspension stamped housing design and development. 
• DAF Hub reduction cast housing design and development.
• Volvo MT610 housing optimization.
• Ford cast housings design and development for 13-ton application.
• Volvo MT610 36-ton housing design and development. 
• Volvo Concrete pump housing design and development.
• MS13175 China stamped housing design and development.
• MAN fabricated stamped housings design and development for medium and light duty application.
• C9 Renault housing redesigned to improve the product life.
• DMO and resourcing programs.
  • Spindle optimization (1.3 million yearly savings)
  • Air shift cylinder optimization ($ 600,000 yearly savings)
  • Pinon washer optimization ($ 400,000 yearly savings)

Application Engineer CAD/CAM | INCITE CAM CENTER, Bangalore, INDIA. (Dec 1999 - July 2001)

INCITE CAM CENTER has been recognized as a premier technology center in CAD/CAM/CAE, offering Engineering services in the area of Product design and Development, Prototype development, CAD Modeling, Die and Mold Designing and CNC Programming and Manufacturing.

Responsibilities:

• Modeling and detailing of the Castings, Plastic parts and Sheet metal parts using Pro/Engineer software.
• Designing of the components using Pro/Engineer and Pro/Program.
• Responsible for scheduling the tasks and to follow necessary procedures to execute the project on time with good quality.
• Responsible to deliver necessary designs, Models and drawings to customer.

MS In Engineering Management | Ohio University

2019-2022

Bachelor of Engineering (B.E) in Mechanical Engineering | NMAMIT Nitte, Mangalore University, Karnataka, India 

1995-1999