Mechanical Engineer · Aerospace Manufacturing

Cullen
CrottCullen Crott

Six years ago I joined the team building and sustaining the GE Honda HF120 turbofan — a certified aerospace environment where the paperwork is as critical as the part and every decision carries real consequence. What I've learned since then isn't just how to build engines. It's how to build processes, lead through ambiguity, and close the gap between what engineering intends and what production delivers. I'm thirty years old, completing a master's degree, and deliberately choosing what comes next. The work that energizes me most is work that hasn't been done yet.

View My Work Get in Touch

01 — About

Engineering as a
Discipline

Some engineers leave work at the office. I go home and rebuild engines. The same methodology I apply to gas turbine production — understand the system, identify the failure mode, engineer the solution, validate it under stress — is what I applied to a turbocharged 1990 Nissan 240sx sitting in my garage. I don't separate who I am at work from who I am everywhere else, because the best engineering I've ever done started with genuine curiosity, not a job description.

That curiosity drives everything I build professionally: writing work instructions that technicians actually follow, running RCCA investigations that fix root causes rather than symptoms, designing tooling that survives the shop floor, and making confident decisions under time pressure with incomplete information. I'm not the engineer who claims to know everything — I'm the one who finds out, owns the outcome, and builds a process so it doesn't happen again.

Currently pursuing an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering at NC State, with graduate coursework in composite mechanics and manufacturing. Six years of certified aerospace manufacturing experience. Located in Browns Summit, NC — 20 minutes from Piedmont Triad International Airport. Just getting started.

Cullen Crott
Manufacturing
DFM / Producibility Work Package Dev. MBOM / BOP Process Optimization RCCA GD&T
Systems & Tools
IFS ERP Solumina MES CATIA V5 Creo 2–4 Python / SQL MATLAB LabVIEW / NI DAQ
Regulatory
AS9100 FAA Part 21 FAA Part 145 FAA/EASA 8130
Composites
Laminate Theory Failure Analysis MRO Repair Docs DFM Trade Studies

02 — Professional Projects

Work That
Moved the Needle

001
Capital Project · MRO Operations
MRO Cleaning Room Renovation
Identified the cleaning room as a critical bottleneck and safety risk through daily shop floor observation. Scoped, designed, and delivered a complete facility renovation — end-to-end ownership with no formal PM assignment.
  • Built Gantt schedule in Excel, shared via SharePoint for real-time team visibility across Engineering, Facilities, EHS, and Production
  • Developed decision matrices evaluating 3+ capital options — each with formal risk identification and mitigation counters
  • Presented multi-option cost-benefit analysis to senior leadership multiple times, adapting communication for executive audiences
  • Secured funding approval; managed project to completion within budget and schedule
50%
Downtime Reduction
<$100K
Capital Budget Owned
3+
Capital Options Analyzed
002
TBO Extension · Global Program
HF120 TBO Extension Project
Selected as the MRO subject matter expert for a global engineering initiative targeting a 33% increase in the HF120's time between overhaul (3,750 → 5,000 hr).
  • Primary boots-on-ground resource for project team based across US, Turkey, and Japan
  • Providing component wear data, process analysis, and CMM/work instruction review
  • Translating MRO operational knowledge into data packages that support engineering decisions
+33%
Target TBO Increase
3
Countries Involved
003
New Capability Launch · FPMU
Fuel Pump & Metering Unit Transfer
Supported the transfer of FPMU part ownership from Rolls Royce to Honda Aero — building a new production and MRO capability from original drawings with no prior process documentation.
  • Created 3D tooling models from original part drawings; managed FDM 3D print validation and outside supplier fabrication
  • Structured MRO work package instructions for IFS ERP and Solumina MES integration
  • Reviewed production instructions for bottlenecks and rework handling; provided DFM feedback to lead engineer
004
Engineering Change · Full Lifecycle
Fuel Nozzle CID Lifecycle
Owned a complete fuel nozzle design change from initial problem identification through CID approval to production implementation — recovering non-conforming low-flow inventory.
  • Identified root cause: large stock of fuel nozzles unusable due to low flow rate
  • Led engineering change process through Change in Design (CID) approval
  • Updated laser marking programs; resolved non-conforming inventory; verified production implementation
005
Data Systems · Dashboard Development
HF120 Rental Engine Fleet Tracker
Identified a gap in fleet visibility for rental engines and built an interactive dashboard to track critical data across the entire rental fleet.
  • Tracked Time, Cycles, Preservation Dates, and Status across active rental engine assets
  • Built using Python and SQL for data extraction from IFS ERP, with interactive display for leadership reporting
  • Solved a real operational visibility problem with no external tools or budget
006
RCCA · Failure Analysis
Broken Bolt Frequency Reduction
Recurring broken bolts in MRO operations were being accepted as normal variation. Identified and eliminated the root cause through systematic investigation.
  • Conducted structured root cause analysis — identified specific process failure point
  • Designed and implemented standardized corrective procedure across MRO operations
  • Reduced frequency by 50%+ with lasting process change, not a workaround
50%+
Frequency Reduction

03 — Personal Engineering

1990 Nissan 240SX
Resto-Mod Build

This isn't a car restoration. It's a systems integration project that happens to have four wheels. Every modification required understanding the existing system, identifying constraints, designing a solution, and validating it under real operating conditions. The same methodology I apply to gas turbine production engineering, applied to a 35-year-old Japanese sports car.

1990 Nissan 240sx Resto-Mod

1990 Nissan 240sx · Browns Summit, NC

Engine Blueprint & Assembly

Full engine disassembly, measurement, and assembly to specification — verifying rod bearing clearance, piston-to-wall clearance, deck height, and ring gap against factory tolerances. The same tolerance-awareness mindset as precision aerospace assembly, applied to a 2.4L inline-four.

Engine rebuild Engine rebuild Engine rebuild
Turbocharger System Integration

Designed and built a complete turbocharged fuel system: injector sizing for target fuel flow, IAT and ethanol content sensor integration, modified oil feed and return routing, custom coolant lines to support bearing cooling — all feeding into an aftermarket ECU calibrated to manage the system as a closed loop. The ECU integration (sensor inputs → control logic → actuated outputs) is the same systems architecture as autonomous vehicle control systems.

Structural Subframe Refurbishment

Full subframe removal, rust assessment, and structural repair: weld-in reinforcement plates, internal and external coating, new polyurethane bushings, and fully adjustable heim joint suspension components. Structural judgment, fabrication execution, and corrosion protection — applied to a 30-year-old chassis.

Subframe refurbishment Subframe refurbishment
System Architecture — Turbo Integration
⛽
Fuel System
Injector Dynamics 1050cc · Walbro 525LPH pump · Ethanol-compatible lines · Aeromotive FPR
↓
⚙
ECU — Megasquirt PNP 2
Retrofit OEM wiring harness · MAP sensor built-in
↓
🌡
Sensors
GM Flex Fuel · GM IAT · AEM Wideband O₂ · 3-port MAC valve (boost ctrl)
↓
🔧
Engine — KA24DE-T
GTX 3076 turbo · Honda K20 coil packs · BC H-beam rods · Supertech pistons · ACL bearings · 8.6:1 CR · 89.5mm bore
↓
🔩
Structural / Chassis
Subframe overhaul + reinforcement plates + internal/external sealant · chassis rust removal & prevention
Academic Embedded Systems Project  ·  VIEW ON HACKSTER.IO ↗
🌡
NTC Thermistors
Intercooler temperature sensing at inlet/outlet
↓
📡
Particle Photon MCUs (×2)
C/C++ firmware · Particle Cloud comms
↓
⚡
Relay-Switched Actuation
Threshold-based coolant pump activation
↓
📊
Wireless Data Logging
Real-time temp monitoring + validation dataset

04 — Experience

Career
Timeline

May 2019
B.S. Mechanical Engineering
UNC Charlotte · Charlotte, NC
FSAE Team Member for 3 years — fabricated chassis and designed engine, wing, and suspension mounting systems. Hands-on multi-discipline manufacturing and assembly experience.
UNC Charlotte
May — Dec 2019
Design Co-op
BorgWarner Turbo Systems · Arden, NC
3D modeling of turbocharger components in Creo 2.0. GD&T drawing creation and editing. Full teardown and failure analysis reporting on Ford EcoBoost turbochargers.
BorgWarner Turbo Systems
Jan 2020 — Present
Manufacturing Engineer
Honda Aero LLC · Burlington, NC
Production and MRO engineering for the GE Honda HF120 Turbofan Engine in an AS9100 / FAA Part 21 & 145 certified environment. Work spans the full manufacturing value chain: work package authoring, MBOM/BOP structuring, tooling design, supplier coordination, RCCA, DFM collaboration, and cross-functional project leadership. Technical liaison to GHAE engineers across US, Turkey, and Japan.
Honda Aero LLC
Expected Dec 2029
M.S. Mechanical Engineering
NC State University · Raleigh, NC
Graduate coursework in Mechanics of Composite Materials (Grade: A) — laminate plate theory, failure theories, ply stacking, and manufacturing techniques for fiber-reinforced composites. Actively exploring Siemens NX and Teamcenter through the Siemens academic partnership program.
NC State University

05 — Contact

Let's Build
Something

I'm thirty, I'm deliberate about what comes next, and I'm looking for work that hasn't been done yet. If that sounds like something you're building — let's talk.

Send a Message
Email
Crott.c2@gmail.com
Phone
724-219-5107
Location
Browns Summit, NC 27214
Proximity
20 min · PTI Airport