Penny Hosken

Experience

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  General Motors

  Nov 2009 - Dec 2014

  Design Release Engineer

  In this role, I was responsible for Instrument Panel Structures for all Holden platforms. Over time this expanded to include other various Instrument Panel, Console and Door Trim components. My major project has was a new Aluminium Instrument Panel (IP) Structure for the mid cycle enhancement of the Holden Commodore VF or Zeta Platform (sold as the Chevrolet SS in the United States). I was involved in the design phase with a senior engineer when I started in the group, and then progresses to the Responsible Engineer for implementing the project with the supplier, overcoming manufacturing and formability issues and completing and meeting all validation requirements. I was awarded SAE-A Young Engineer of the Year award for my work for implementing an Australian first aluminium IP beam using a “hands on approach”. Learning’s from this project are now part of the Global Best Practices for IP Structure design. In 2011 I achieved Design for Six Sigma Green Belt Certification and Black Belt certification in 2013. Show less

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  Futuris Automotive

  Dec 2014 - Oct 2017

  Product Engineer

  My key role was Seat Structure design. This included advanced product development for a of an all new corporate front seat structure and designing for various vehicle manufactures across the globe including Tesla, Faraday Future, General Motors and Geely. I was responsible for all phases of the projects from preparing quotes, validation, and all aspects of the design development and integration. I lead the development of a second row of seating for a new vehicle and new Californian car company, Faraday Future. My key focus was the structural development of the seat to fit into a unique vehicle layout with a strong focus on mass reduction. I was responsible for designing a second row of seating for a brand-new vehicle. This included defining the criteria and functionality of the seat, vehicle attachments, validation requirements and mechanism and material selection. This was a very dynamic project with lots of scope change. Low mass and high-quality execution were critical and program timing was very aggressive. Strong leadership skills were required to drive decisions as I was regularly faced with design development cross roads and trade-offs. My role was seat structure design but I was also instrumental in complete seat development and managing program timing.Advanced product development for a of an all-new corporate front seat structure. This seat has “all power functionality” with some key unique design characteristics which make it a market first including an efficient package volume to optimise vehicle interior and battery space. The new structure is a 25% mass reduction over the previous corporate seat structure and was achieved by efficient design and utilisation of advanced materials including carbon fibre and Ultra High Strength Steels. I was responsible from conception of the project and built prototype seats to show case to potential customers. Show less

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  Goldwind Australia

  Nov 2017 - Mar 2018

  Product Engineer

  Goldwind is a company that designs and builds wind turbines as well as wind farms. As a Goldwind Australia product engineer I worked between the Australian Wind Farm Development and Construction teams, and the global design center in China. I was responsible for insuring that the wind turbines were specified correctly, meet the relevant Australian standards, co-ordinated validation and supported the wind farm project teams on all technical concerns and drive solution resolution.

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  Holden

  Apr 2018 - Nov 2018

  Senior Quality Engineer

  I was the lead for product quality and warranty for the all new ZB Holden Commodore (Opal Insignia). This involved issue definition and root cause analysis for product issued that arise in the field. Then working directly with the Opel team in Germany to drive improvements into the future builds. Additionally, working to develop and implement field fixes for vehicles already with customers.

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  General Motors

  Nov 2018 - Jun 2020

  Advanced Vehicle Development- Specialist Design Engineer

  Part of a specialist team in Australia working for General Motors North America on leading Advanced Vehicle Development (AVD) projects. This involved creating global networks to define scope of the project and working locally to design and develop product solutions. My focus was on the interior, specifically seating, Instrument Panel (IP) structures and IP trim across several programs. My last major project before closure was the lead engineer for IP Trim and IP structures for a mid size truck. I was also responsible for scoping the seating program including a new seating system to address cost, mass and consumer dissatisfaction. The all new IP trim was a new challenge for me working on a new, complex system with over 60 different parts. This involved leading a large team of designers whilst understanding and driving criteria for many system interfaces. The tooling bill alone for new plastic trim system was over $6M USD. Other AVD projects have been other plastic trim systems and structural components for GM’s upcoming Battery Electric Vehicles. Show less

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  Invetech

  Sept 2020 - Feb 2021

  Senior Mechanical Engineer

  I was working on extremely accelerated medical device project where I was in the transfer to manufacturing space. Not only was medical a new industry for me but I started the role in lockdown so I never met my colleagues face to face for the first four months. This relied heavily on my strong interpersonal skills to quickly create productive working relationships. It is challenging to transfer a product to manufacturing when it is still in the design phase so I found the real value in my role was creating communication channels. My ability to work to across the whole business and supply chain to extract key information enabled progression of the project as well as highlight risks early so countermeasures could be put in place. Show less

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  VINFAST

  Feb 2021 - Jun 2021

  Serviceability Senior Engineer

  I was part of the growing Vinfast Aftersales team working in the serviceability space. My core working area was defining serviceable parts for all new vehicle platforms, working with the design teams to ensure there are access paths for service and then creating the service procedures. Being a new OEM there were many areas of the process that are not defined so it required thinking outside the box to get implementation.

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  General Motors

  Jun 2021 - Jul 2022

  Post Production Specialist Engineer

  Creating innovative solutions for Holden vehicles no longer in production.

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  Rivian

  Jul 2022 - now

  Staff Technical Program Manager