Siddardth Pathipaka

Manufacturing Engineer – Plant Operations & Production Quality with hands-on shop-floor experience fabricating aerospace structures, resolving floor-level nonconformances, and driving defect reduction on GE Aerospace and Boeing programs. Builds standard work from tooling setup through final inspection; comfortable working directly with operators and technicians to stabilize production. Authorized to work in the U.S. on STEM OPT (no sponsorship needed for 3 years).

Manufacturing & Quality Intern at Tata Boeing Aerospace (2022-10 – 2023-03)

Manufacturing and quality internship focused on aerospace component inspection and defect reduction.

• Established GD&T-driven CMM inspection workflow validating 450+ flight-critical aerospace components to 0.02 mm accuracy, achieving zero customer escapes on GE and Boeing programs.
• Ran SPC-based investigation that isolated CNC tool wear as primary driver of position tolerance failures, reducing recurring defect rate from 15% to under 3%.
• Drove cross-functional MRB dispositions using 8D root cause analysis for GE engine components, cutting nonconformance cycle time by 22%.
• Prevented ~$3,000 in potential scrap by conducting FMEA on supplier nonconformance and supporting engineering team in securing use-as-is disposition.

Manufacturing Lead | SAMPE Composite Fuselage Program at UIUC (2025-01 – 2025-05)

Led manufacturing of a 24-inch composite fuselage using prepreg layup and autoclave processing with focus on process optimization and defect prevention.

• Built a 24-inch composite fuselage using prepreg layup and autoclave cure (275°F, 40 psi), achieving first-article success with under 2% void content.
• Redesigned layup workflow by switching from individual ply wraps to a continuous prepreg blanket, eliminating delamination risk and improving process repeatability.
• Implemented FMEA identifying vacuum bag leaks as highest-risk failure mode (RPN=60), configuring automated leak detection that achieved zero process deviations across all cure cycles.
• Used FEA-validated stacking sequence to make a production build decision that reduced part deflection by 38% at 150% design load (1,000 lbf), eliminating a rework loop before the cure cycle.

Manufacturing Intern at EQIC Dies & Moulds Engineers Pvt. Ltd. (2022-06 – 2022-08)

Internship across multi-stage die manufacturing line with focus on dimensional verification and GD&T compliance.

• Worked directly with technicians across a 12-stage die manufacturing line – CNC machining, EDM, wire EDM, vacuum heat treatment, and final assembly – building shop-floor fluency in multi-step production execution and machine setup.
• Owned dimensional verification of cavity and core components to ±0.02 mm against GD&T specifications and confirmed parting surface alignment (>80% contact) on 800-bar HPDC tooling before release to production.

Graduate Research Assistant at Beckman Institute, UIUC (2024-05 – 2024-12)

Research on rapid out-of-autoclave composite processing methods and process qualification optimization.

• Developed a rapid out-of-autoclave cure method reducing composite processing time from 8+ hours to under 5 minutes, demonstrating scalable alternative to traditional autoclave production cycles.
• Reduced composite process qualification time by 94% through validated computational modeling, enabling faster process parameter decisions without additional physical builds.

M.S. in Aerospace Engineering – University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2024-01 – 2025-12)

B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering – VNR VJIET (2019-08 – 2023-05)