• You are in a Mechanical Engineer’s Lair, tread carefully!

    Welcome to the humble world of Keerthi Sepuri, feel free to explore and make sure you reach all the pit stops and cross that chequered flag.



    If you have any doubts or questions along the way, please feel free to contact me.



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About Me

WHO IS KEERTHI SEPURI?

Welcome to my world of mechanical innovation and design precision. I'm Keerthi Sepuri, a Mechanical Design Engineer with a passion for pushing the boundaries of what's possible in vehicle engineering. With a relentless pursuit of excellence and a keen eye for detail, I've been at the forefront of shaping the future of transportation technology.

My journey in the industry has been nothing short of exhilarating. From leading suspension design projects at Nikola Motors, where I orchestrated the dynamics of Class 8 Semi-Truck suspensions, to pioneering groundbreaking solutions at Tesla, including the intricate design of Cybertruck components, my career has been defined by innovation and excellence.

With a Master's degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from New York University and a solid foundation from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, India, I bring a unique blend of academic rigor and practical expertise to every project I undertake.

My portfolio is not just a showcase of projects; it's a testament to my commitment to excellence. Whether it's optimizing mass and cost for efficiency, conducting rigorous FEA analysis, or collaborating seamlessly across multidisciplinary teams, I thrive on challenges that demand ingenuity and precision.

But beyond the technical realm, I pride myself on my soft skills—my ability to communicate effectively, think critically, and foster strong team dynamics. I believe that true innovation stems from collaboration and diversity of thought, and I'm dedicated to fostering environments where creativity flourishes and boundaries dissolve.

In a world driven by innovation and fueled by ambition, I stand ready to embark on the next frontier of mechanical design. Join me on this journey, where every project is an opportunity to redefine what's possible and leave a lasting impact on the future of transportation.

Let's build the future together, one meticulously designed component at a time

Portfolio

Hood design BIW (Body-In-White)

Designed and developed the hood inner panel, outer panel BIW (Body-In-White) or body structures along with reinforcements for the latch and the hinges. The design was done with a draft angle of 7 deg for ease of manufacturability with a section modulus study and features for mastic sealants, stoppers, striker and hinge mounting with proper alignment using CATIA. The design was done to reduce and optimize weight and tooling investment while understanding the design intent of all the features involved in a backdoor BIW design.

Backdoor design BIW (Body-In-White)

Designed and developed the backdoor BIW (Body-In-White) or body structures along with reinforcements for the latch, hinges and the gas stays. The design was done with a draft angle of 7 deg for ease of manufacturability and features for sealing flange mounting, back glass mounting, wiper motor mounting, tail lamp mounting, hinge, latch and gas stay mounting in CATIA. The design was done to reduce and optimize weight and tooling investment while understanding the design intent of all the features involved in a hood BIW design.

Roof design BIW (Body-In-White)

Designed and developed roof closure, the front roof rail, rear roof rail, the bow roof, and the sun roof BIW components with proper mastic sealant features, a snow load study, heat distortion study and bow roof placement study using CATIA.

Front Fender BIW (Body-In-White) design

Designed and developed an automotive front fender design with drip area features and mounting features with ease of assembly and manufacturing considerations using CATIA.

Toyota design

At Toyota, I optimized the structural design of a skid that carries spare parts through an electroplating process using the skid conveyor system. The design and the mechanism that I proposed was estimated to bring in an ROI of 4.8 million, increase productivity by 100% and decrease daily manually handled weight by a single worker from 6350 lbs to 220 lbs.

BAJA SAE 2k18 Chassis design

As the chassis design lead for the university race team, I was able to convey other teams’ perspectives and set actionable objectives and lead the design direction. We designed the optimum chassis using CATIA and FEA (Finite Element Analysis) for our ATV. I also helped accelerate the Body in White manufacturing and the final assembly process as the team’s lead welder

Automobile wheel mounting and dismounting mechanism slideshow

For my senior year project me and my team of four designed in CATIA, developed and manufactured a new patent-pending “automobile wheel mounting and dismounting mechanism”. Negotiations with suppliers and design for manufacturing were some of the core competencies I gained with this project.

Pensa Labs Air Bending Project

This project led to a lot of breakthroughs in the process of achieving the end result of improving the DIWire PRO’s (a 2D desktop wire bending machine) accuracy and resolution by 80%. Navigating the project from the early design requirements to the design of experiments along with my teammate, we were able to achieve what the previous three interns could not. We worked a lot of late nights and we enjoyed every bit.

Swarm Robotics Project

This is a project that I’m really proud of because I went into the course not knowing it was a Ph.D. level course and I was able to learn python and also implement what I learnt in controlling a swarm of robots to form multiple formations using decentralized command.
Fun fact: They used the same approach for the 1800 drone globe at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic opening ceremony. Yes, I know how to do that.

FEA (Finite Element Analysis) analysis

I performed numerous FEA (Finite Element Analysis) and CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) simulations and I can tell you that they are always interesting!

My Skills

3-D Designing Software

CATIA, Certified Solidworks designer
(by Dassault Systemes)

100%

Drafting Software:

AUTOCAD, Solidworks, CATIA,
Adobe Illustrator

100%

Simulation Software:

Solidworks Simulation, ANSYS, MSC Adams

80%

Programming Languages:

MATLAB, Python, CNC Programming, C language, JAVA

60%

Other Tools:

Microsoft word, Microsoft excel, Microsoft Powerpoint, Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides

100%

Education

New York University,
Tandon School of Engineering,
Brooklyn, New York (Aug 2018 - Jan 2020)

Master of Science, Mechanical Engineering

Course work: Mechatronics, Swarm Robotics, Linear Control Theory, Additive Manufacturing of metals, CAD for Additive Manufacturing, Non-Destructive Evaluation, Solid Mechanics, Thermal Engineering.

VNR Vignana Jyothi Institute of Technology,
Hyderabad, India (May 2014 - May 2018)

Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineering

Course work: 3-D Designing, 3-D prototyping, AUTOCAD Drafting, CAD/CAM, Finite Element Method, Engineering Mechanics, Mechanical Engineering Design, Thermodynamics, Thermal Engineering, Fluid Mechanics, Mechanics of Solids, Kinematics and Dynamics Of Machinery, Metallurgy and Material Science, Metrology and Quality Control.

Work Experience

Nikola Motors,, Mechanical Design Engineer

Aug 2022 – Present 

  • Mechanical Design Engineer owning 30+ part assemblies, including plastic brackets & steel structures (Castings, Sheet metal) and Dampers
    • Manufacturing methods: Injection Molding, Sheet Metal Bending, Casting, Sheet Metal Stamping
  • Led Suspension Sweep Zone design for the Front, Rear and Cab Suspensions on multiple programs
  • Led APQP, FMEA, PPAP, DFMEA & PFMEA for multiple production parts
  • Created technical documentation (ESOW or Engineering Statement of Works) to send to suppliers
  • Lead Design Owner for the Class 8 Semi-Truck TRE FCEV Rear Suspension for both the axles
    • Static and Dynamic FEA Analysis (ANSYS)
    • Engineering Statement of Work (ESOW) Creation
    • Vehicle Dynamics
    • Suspension Kinematics and Dynamics
    • Modal Analysis (ANSYS)
    • Joint Design (Bolted Joints)
    • Snap Fit Design for Plastic Joints
    • Tolerance Stack up Analysis and GD&T (3DCS)
    • DFM (Design for Manufacturing) and DFA (Design for Assembly
    • Weight Distribution Analysis between the 3 Axles
    • Collaboration with Vehicle Dynamics, Vehicle Testing, NVH, Durability, CAE & Manufacturing teams
    • Fixture design for prototype testing
    • Coordinated Testing and Physical Validation testing activities specifically for the Active Air Suspension
  • Lead Sustaining Design Owner for the Class 8 Semi-Truck TRE BEV Rear Suspension for both the axles
  • Resolved multiple quality and manufacturing issues on the production line while interacting with Suppliers
  • Submitted parts for Fabrication and assembled on Prototype Trucks while supporting validation testing
  • Collaborated with Suppliers, Quality, Purchasing, Vendors, Integration team, Service Team, other design teams
  • Created Engineering drawings with GD&T, assembly drawings and specification documents to convey design intent
  • Performance Optimization for
    • Mass
    • Cost
    • Part Number Count
    • No. of Joints and Failure Points
    • Sustainable Design
    • Stiffness
  • Tools Used: 3DX, ANSYS, Modal Analysis, Prototype assembly, CAN for Active Air Suspension, 3DCS

TESLA, Mechanical Design Engineer

Sep 2021 – Jul 2022 

  • Mechanical Design Engineer on the Chassis Team
  • Design Owner for Cybertruck Brake Distribution Components including Brake Lines, Brake Hoses and Hydraulic Control Unit Mount
  • Design Owner for Cybertruck Chassis Electrical Harnesses
  • Design Owner for Damper Electrical Harnesses on a new program
  • Partial Design Owner for Pneumatic Distribution System on Semi
  • Design Owner Responsibilities included
    • Design
    • FEA analysis
    • 2D Drawings
    • DFM (Design for Manufacturing) based on Supplier feedback
    • DFMEA (Design Failure Modes and Effect analysis)
    • PFMEA (Production Failure Modes and Effects Analysis)
    • Supplier Coordination
    • Design for General Assembly, Service and coordinate with surrounding component design owners to ensure everybody’s requirements are met while maintaining system attribute goals
  • Mainly worked in CATIA V6 or CATIA 3DX for Design and IPS Cable Simulation Software for Flexible Dynamic Cables in the Wheel Well Area to ensure clean routing at all suspension positions
  • Core Focus on reducing
    • Mass
    • Cost
    • Part Number Count
    • No. of Joints and Failure Points

PENSA LABS, R&D Mechanical Engineer

Mar 2020 – Sep 2021 

  • Designed Experiments and setup tests to collect Research data for the World’s First Desktop Wire Bending Machine that helped pioneer a highly accurate open loop feedback bending algorithm
  • Standardized the process of collecting data to achieve an increase in Resolution and accuracy of their machine by 80%
  • Designed Assembly and Service Process Guidelines
  • Evaluated Machine Failure Cases and supported new material bending feasibility research

PENSA LABS, Mechanical Engineering Intern

Jun 2019 – Dec 2019 

  • Improved the world’s first desktop CNC wire bending machine’s resolution & accuracy by 80%
  • Pioneered 3D equations in MATLAB using a Raspberry Pi to improve machine functionality by 87%

TOYOTA, Mechanical Engineering Intern

Jun 2017 – Aug 2017 

  • Designed a mechanism and optimized the skid design that carries service parts for electrodeposition on the skid conveyor system such that work efficiency improved by 100% with an ROI of 4.8 Million in 12 months
  • Achieved a 95% success rate with a decrease in daily manually handled weight from 6350 lbs to 220 lbs

Vettura Vikings BAJA SAE Team, Chassis Design Lead

Mar 2016 – Mar 2017 

  • Designed the optimum chassis for our ATV using FEA (Finite Element Analysis) for analyzing strength, stress, strain, deformation/deflection and factor of safety according to the rulebook using Solidworks
  • Accelerated the Body in White manufacturing and the final assembly process as the team’s lead welder
Get in Touch

Contact

keerthisepuri@outlook.com

LinkedIn

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