FE Mechanical EngineerCSWEMechanical Design / Product Development / Technical Education

Peter Arnold · Los Altos, CA

Mechanical Engineer.
Product Developer.

I develop physical products through CAD, prototyping, testing, manufacturing, and technical documentation.

An FPV racing drone being repaired at Peter's electronics workbench
FPV drone troubleshootingTroubleshooting the video signal on my first FPV drone.
6+years building in CAD
4.94/5cumulative student rating
8custom FPV drones built
$1.9Min grants supported
/01

Selected work

Featured Projects

An FPV racing drone under repair at a soldering and electronics workbench01
Electromechanical systems2025–Present

Custom FPV Racing Drones

Eight custom FPV drones built through component selection, soldering, firmware configuration, fabrication, flight testing, troubleshooting, and repair.

OnshapeBetaflightSoldering
A rendered pair of yellow skis fitted with Talon binding concepts02
Product development2023–2024

Talon Ski Bindings

A ten-month capstone project to design, manufacture, test, and present a ski-binding concept intended to reduce ACL injuries.

SOLIDWORKSInjection MoldingTesting
>2×product lifespan
03
Professional engineering2024–2025

Product Validation & DFM

A validation and redesign program that identified an early wear failure, guided iteration, and prepared a flagship product for production.

Root CauseDFMInjection Molding
A photorealistic aerospace concept showing an unmanned aircraft operating with a helicopter04
Visualization and strategy2023–2024

Aerospace Concept Development

Eleven aerospace concepts and more than forty photorealistic renders developed for funding, partner, recruiting, and internal discussions.

SOLIDWORKSRenderingFEA
A dark sculpted computer mouse with illuminated purple controls05
Aesthetic exploration2024

NeuMouse

An industrial design study focused on surfacing, master modeling, rendering, animation, and visual development.

SurfacingMaster ModelingRendering
An exploded SOLIDWORKS view of a parameter-driven ratchet and spring mechanism06
Design system study2024–2025

Parametric Mechanisms

Three printable product studies based on equations, configurable geometry, and functional mechanisms.

Parametric CADFDMMechanisms
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Capabilities

Engineering Capabilities

01

Design

  • SOLIDWORKS
  • Onshape
  • Fusion 360
  • Simulation
  • Rendering
02

Make

  • Injection molding
  • FDM / FFF
  • SLS
  • Sheet metal
  • Soldering
03

Validate

  • Test planning
  • Root cause
  • First articles
  • DFM reviews
  • Documentation
04

Lead

  • Technical teaching
  • CAD strategy
  • Project management
  • Visual storytelling
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Experience

Professional Experience

Mar 2026–Jun 2026

Contract Mechanical Engineer

SiFly

Mechanical engineering, manufacturing support, and production documentation for long-endurance drone systems.

Sep 2025–May 2026

Contract Mechanical Design Engineer

LightLinks, Inc.

Same-day renders, functional prototypes, and CAD process development for product design work.

May 2024–Mar 2025

Staff Mechanical Engineer

Zonit Structured Solutions

Product validation, injection-molding DFM, sheet-metal design, technical reporting, and CAD leadership for data-center power hardware.

Jan 2023–May 2024

CAD/CAM Course Teaching Assistant

University of Colorado Boulder

Hands-on SOLIDWORKS instruction, troubleshooting, design feedback, and mentorship across three 30-student sections.

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Background

Background and Professional Focus

I am an FE mechanical engineer, Certified SOLIDWORKS Expert, and CU Boulder graduate with a minor in Engineering Entrepreneurship. My path runs through aerospace concepts, production hardware, teaching, racing drones, and a long list of self-assigned design problems.

Across these roles, I focus on understanding constraints, documenting decisions, and improving each design through testing. I apply the same approach to products, teams, and technical education.

About Peter