Willis Walker

Experience

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  Turkey Creek Medical Center

  May 2011 - Aug 2011

  Cardiac Stents Intern & Database Manager

  Followed Malcolm Foster M.D. and observed many cardiovascular procedures. Became familiar with medial terminology, procedures, and medical equipment specifically heart stents. Helped manage and update patient database.

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  Camp Ozark

  May 2013 - Jul 2013

  "Lake Crew" Camp Counselor

  -Taught campers skills in waterskiing and wakeboarding at the beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels.-Developed skills in multitasking, communication, teamwork, and safety.-Responsible for driving a boat with 8-10 campers at a time, boys and girls ranging from ages 7-16.

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  GKN Aerospace

  Jan 2014 - May 2015

  Process Engineer

  • Responsible for creating a production line with less defects while maintaining schedule requirements. Focused on improving tooling setup and gathered data for complex producibility studies. • Improved work instructions, interviewed line workers about common part/assembly defects, determined the root cause of the issue, and setup mitigation strategy to help lower the risk of repeat failures.• Deployed Lean Enterprise analysis methods and shadowed Six-Sigma Black Belt who focused on minimizing waste through minimizing defects in Kevlar, Carbon Fiber, and Fiberglass layup. Show less

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  Auburn University

  Feb 2014 - Aug 2016

  GPS & Vehicle Dynamics Research Assistant

  • “Cruise Control Fuel Efficiency Simulink Project”-Worked as sole researcher directly with third party client to generate PHD student’s model to output predicted fuel consumptions when vehicle speeds, and road grades were input. Optimized model with actual vehicle data.• Tested multiple Delphi radars with variable baselines and analyzed CAN data using Matlab.• Contributed in the development of both Apple and Android applications for blind pedestrian project.• “Lunar Lander Radar Capabilities Project” -Worked with NASA to determine if the Delphi radar was a plausible sensor to use for a lunar lander in the presence of rocket exhaust.• Developed and built payload to include raspberry pi 2 CPU, automotive radar, IMU, and GPS within design specifications and limitations. • Implemented C++ and Python scripts into ROS (Robot Operating System) to integrate sensors’ data. • Transformed radar results using IMU/GPS data to reveal a real-time, 3-D map of payload’s surroundings. Show less

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  NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

  Jun 2015 - Aug 2015

  Research & Development Mechanical Engineer

  -Worked to test the capabilities of the Delphi Automotive radar for lunar lander terrain mapping. This required developing, building, and integrating the Radar, GPS, IMU, and CPU in a payload mounted on an octocopter for field testing. This project required significant programming in C++ and Python and use of Robot Operating System (ROS). Problem Statement:As a module descends to the surface, dust clouds arise making it difficult to locate obstacles on the ground with an optical sensor. Automotive radar and Lidar are being examined as possible methods of detecting obstacles as their sensors will pass through the dust particles. The goal is to overcome technical idiosyncrasies of linking the payload’s hardware and software to determine if technologies similar to the Delphi automotive radar are both precise and accurate enough for future use on an actual lander.The lunar module descent is simulated by an octocopter with the radar scanning downward at MSFC’s lunar terrain field. Radar data is mapped and compared to truth data developed by a Leica laser scanner. Show less

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  Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA)

  Aug 2016 - Feb 2021

  Engineer ND-0830-04 (GS12-GS13 Equivalent)

  • Responsible for analyzing the development of the Unmanned Influence Sweep System (UISS) during Developmental Testing (DT) and Operational Assessment (OA). Primary performed root cause analyses by parsing vehicle data in Matlab after an unexpected event. • Leads a technical staff from multiple functional disciplines in support of Navy minefield systems development concentrating on future advanced minefields with underwater acoustic communications. Approaches complex technical problems methodically and decomposes tasks into manageable tickets used frequently in the Agile development process.• Works to ensure that contract requirements, specifications, design criteria, schedule, and performance are integrated, maintained, and well documented. • Lead advanced design solutions which helped support the research of new technologies. The advanced minefield analysis and assessment tool our team developed paired with the Expert Choice software files I created led to the determination of which technology was funded to potentially gain the best minefield effectiveness improvement for the least amount of effort. • Developed a system architecture and led weekly meetings presenting Magicdraw diagrams for proposed paths forward for development of a simulation tool which assessed different advanced minefield’s effectiveness. • Provide oversight of, guidance, and structured mentorship to junior engineers especially in data analysis.• “Auger Winch Development Project” -Developed design concepts, performed down selection, executed detailed design, built, and tested special tooling for rapid prototyping Pandora project primarily using Solidworks. • “RMS Winch Redesign Project” -Designed, built, and installed equipment to repair testing support equipment and make equipment modular.• “Encapsulated Effector Lid Design” -Redesigned a removable lid and safety strap to an underwater pressure vessel to mechanically actuate at a specific pressure/depth when deployed. Show less

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  L3Harris Technologies

  Feb 2021 - Apr 2022

  Senior System Engineer

  I led the FVR-90 digital engineer effort and communicated with severaldifferent business areas, my internal team, and demoed to both leadership and thepotential Army customer showcasing our capabilities.In 3 months, our team went from a blank page to a model with the capability toautomatically loop through different alternatives and select the bestconfiguration given a set of performance curves, performance weights, andrequirements set.Led daily scrums, biweekly sprint reviews and planning meetings, and acted asscrum master. I filled out the backlog of tasks, planned future tasking, andsuccessfully received follow-on funding from leadership.Communicated with Airforce customer daily and provided lengthy demos weekly.Skilled at creating digital threads between Cameo/Magicdraw and othersoftwares such as Matlab.Mentored teammates by answering technical questions and helping themunderstand why they were implementing tasks in a specific manner (explainingthe reasoning behind the architecture)Created reusable tools such as the Center of Gravity Visualizer script in Matlaband connected it to Cameo which was believed to be one of the main contributorsto winning additional funding for an Airforce customer. Show less

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  Raytheon Intelligence & Space

  Apr 2022 - now

  Principal System Engineer

  Start Date: May 2, 2022

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  CameoMagic Professional LLC

  Jun 2024 - now

  Lead Consultant

  As the Lead Consultant at CameoMagic, I specialize in SysML consulting, training, and digital engineering solutions. I help organizations bridge the gap between traditional engineering and model-based systems engineering (MBSE) by developing SysML models and providing tailored training. My mission is to simplify SysML adoption and empower engineers and businesses to leverage MBSE effectively.