Trimaran
Foam structure, propulsion, and electrical integration.
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING / PRODUCT DESIGN
Jacob BenjaminMechanical Engineer
I’m a mechanical engineer at NASA and an M.S. student at UCF, focused on mechanical product design. My work spans consumer hardware and aerospace—from CAD and first-principles calculations to prototypes, testing, and manufacturing.
CURRENTLYMechanical Engineer at NASAM.S. Mechanical Engineering · UCF · Expected 2027
EXPERIENCE ACROSS
INDUSTRIES
INDUSTRIES
01 / PROJECTS
Projects
Mechanical design, prototyping, and testing—from the initial problem to the final result.
01NASA / DEPLOYABLE SOLAR PANELS
R5 CubeSat
Ownership of solar-panel hardware development: mechanical design, component selection, prototyping, and testing.
10.65 Nestimated pin breakaway friction
Mechanical design · Prototyping · TestingExplore project ↗
02SHARKNINJA / PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
Ninja SLUSHi
Geometry changes, seal engagement, and a manufacturable path to tooling. Cooling, noise, and mechanism improvements.
90%+less leakage in the FDM prototype test
~4 dBlower acoustic noise
2 weeks before MPOwnership under production deadline ↗
Seal interfaces · DFM · Prototype validationExplore project ↗
03HUNTER INDUSTRIES / LDN DYNAMIC DRIVE
LDN Sprinkler
Sprinkler bracket redesign: first-principles analysis, geometry iteration, and a custom fracture-test fixture.
32.4%lower maximum stress in FEA
Hand calculations · FEA · Fixture designExplore project ↗
Additional projects
Mechanisms, packaging, and electromechanical integration.
SHELLHACKS / 2024
MorseBot
Enclosure, battery-door mechanism, custom PCB, and Arduino integration.
Explore the build ↗
LIMBITLESS / WEAR LAB
Assistive mechanisms
Grasp testing and wearable motion-transfer systems, with video demonstrations.
View research & mechanisms ↗Earlier builds · trimaran, aerodynamic model car & LED sign
Aerodynamic model car
Iterative flow simulation, 3D printing, and wind-tunnel testing.
LED acrylic sign
Laser engraving, a fabricated wooden base, and LED integration.
02 / EXPERIENCE
Experience
JAN 2026 — PRESENT
NASA
Mechanical Engineer
AerospacePower systems & deployable hardware
Developing electrical-prototype enclosures, battery test hardware, and connector test fixtures, with earlier work on deployable CubeSat solar panels and materials evaluation.
Power Systems Branch · Aug 2026–present
- Designing enclosures in Creo for electrical prototypes, evaluating bend radii, strain relief, and ingress sealing.
- Developing battery test hardware and thermal simulations to evaluate and study battery thermal runaway.
- Characterizing USB-C connector signal under vibration and thermal cycling; designing fixtures for mate/de-mate testing.
Design & Analysis Branch · Jan–Aug 2026
- Owned end-to-end deployable solar-panel development for the R5 CubeSat under strict packaging constraints.
- Applied first-principles calculations to pin-joint load paths and evaluated designs and soft goods for weight, thermal, and dust requirements.
- Managed CAD updates in Creo/Windchill and led an ISS materials corrosion review with silicone sample casting, microscopy, and hardness testing.
AUG — DEC 2025
SharkNinja
Product Design Engineering Co-op
Consumer appliancesSLUSHi product development
- Designed an injection-molded PCTG vessel and improved sealing through GD&T-driven tooling changes, reducing leakage by over 90% in the FDM prototype test.
- Owned cooling validation and fan/PCBA changes, coordinating with electrical engineering, Industrial Design, NPI, and manufacturing ahead of mass production.
- Reduced acoustic noise by approximately 4 dB; used ANSYS, CT scans, DFM/A, and RSS tolerance analysis to resolve gearbox-housing interference and FPC alignment.
JUN — AUG 2025
Hunter Industries
Mechanical Engineering Intern
Irrigation systemsSprinkler bracket development
- Redesigned a sprinkler bracket for a production scope of 50,000+ units, reducing maximum stress by 32.4% in FEA.
- Evaluated 15+ designs through DOE and FEA, using first-principles calculations to guide geometry changes.
- Built SLA prototypes and designed CNC-machined stainless-steel fixtures for physical fracture testing.
WEAR LaboratoryMechanical Research AssistantMay 2024–May 2025 +
Designed an ergonomic shin brace and prototyped ratchet and pulley mechanisms for a wearable system that transfers upper-body motion to the lower body. Optimized SolidWorks components for manufacture and integration.
Universal CreativeMechanical Engineering InternJan–Apr 2024 +
Designed a shaft assembly with a 250 lbf axial load capacity, supported DFMEA and tolerance analysis across 30+ ride components, and coordinated vendor corrective actions that reduced fiberglass-part variation by 15%.
Limbitless SolutionsMechanical Engineering InternMay–Aug 2023 +
Developed electromechanical testing fixtures, validated digit designs with FEA, and prototyped Arduino-controlled cable linkages. Authored an integration procedure for a Tormach ZA6 robotic arm.
03 / ABOUT ME
It started with curiosity.
At 4 years old, I was watching a rocket climb into the sky. I’ve been asking how things work ever since.
That curiosity led to tinkering, origami, and building things every chance I got. Studying mechanical engineering made it click: the math and physics could explain things I’d always wondered about—like how an airplane wing produces lift.
Internships took me from assistive devices and theme parks to consumer appliances and aerospace. Each brought a new puzzle, but the same starting point: understand the physics, build something, and test it. With every project, I became more certain that engineering is what I want to do.
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDAM.S. Mechanical EngineeringExpected May 2027B.S. Mechanical EngineeringComputer Science minor · August 2025
TOOLS & METHODS
Technical skills
01 / Design
SolidWorks CSWP ↗
Creo · Windchill · Siemens NX · Fusion 360
AutoCAD Credential ↗
02 / Analysis
ANSYS FEA & CFD · COMSOL
MATLAB · DOE · JMP
GD&T · Tolerance analysis
03 / Manufacturing
DFM/DFA · CNC
3D printing · Rapid prototyping
Additional
Python · Arduino · KiCad
Electromechanical integration
CONTACT / RÉSUMÉ
Contact
I’m interested in mechanical product design opportunities in consumer hardware.
For recruiting conversations, project questions, or interviews: