Chris Krikorian

I'm a Mechanical Engineer

About

Mechanical Engineering graduate from San Diego State University with hands-on experience in CAD design, manufacturing, and robotics — driven by a passion for building things that work.

Mechanical Engineer & Tinkerer.

From FSAE EV chassis development to humanoid robots and custom go-karts, I design and build mechanical systems end-to-end.

  • Location: Burbank, California
  • Degree: B.S. Mechanical Engineering (2026)
  • University: San Diego State University
  • Clearance: U.S. Citizen, DoD Eligible

Resume

Mechanical engineer with internship experience at defense and consumer tech companies, in leading engineering teams, and building complex systems from concept to completion.

Summary

Chris Krikorian

Hands-on mechanical engineer with experience in CAD design, manufacturing, robotics, and data automation. Passionate about building real systems — from FSAE race car chassis to humanoid robots and custom fabrication projects.

Education

B.S. Mechanical Engineering

2022 – 2026

San Diego State University, San Diego, CA

Coursework: Computer Aided Machine Design, Thermodynamics, Solid Mechanics, Fluid Dynamics, MatLab, R, and Materials. Member of AER (Aztec Electric Racing), ASME, and Armenian Students Association.

High School Diploma — NAF Academy of Engineering

2018 – 2022

Burbank High School, Burbank, CA

NAF Academy of Engineering graduate. AP and Honors student.

Work Experience

Mechanical Engineering Intern

May 2025 – August 2025

Teledyne Reynolds, Torrance, CA

  • Redesigned robotic soldering arm fixtures and fingers using 304 stainless steel, improving durability and contributing to a 15% decrease in fixture downtime, reducing maintenance needs. Estimated to last 6–8 months longer than 3D printed counterparts.
  • Created new Radial Ink Jet Printing Fixtures, accommodating 14 new products in the production assembly line.
  • Standardized process for ordering, identifying, and storing critical operational spare parts in response to a critically failed audit. Contributed to 23% improvement in downtime and audit compliance.
  • Reverse engineered molding core pins dating back 40 years, created tooling to efficiently maintain molds between jobs, ensuring consistent production quality.
  • Designed new tooling for seal molds using SolidWorks out of A2 Tool Steel, adhering to Sandia Laboratory needs up to 0.002". Applied correct tolerancing accounting for material shrinkage and tooling block warping.
  • Oversaw operations in the molding department including BOY/Femco machines. Collaborated with QA to fine tune molding equipment, as well as increase efficiency in the deflashing procedure.
  • Created a dynamic VBA script tracking daily sales data, graphically representing sales progress in comparison to projected sales.
  • Optimized operations backlog with faster data acquisition, data refresh reduced from 35 to 6 seconds transitioning repetitive macros to VBA scripts.

Apple Support College Advisor

February 2024 – August 2024

Apple, Cupertino, CA

  • Critical in supporting products including iPhones, iPads, MacBooks, iMacs, and more with technical support.
  • Used technical expertise, creativity, and troubleshooting flow to support and assist issues regarding Apple hardware and software.
  • Collaborated with Apple engineers and product managers to provide feedback and suggestions for product improvements based on customer pain points and trends in the market.

Intern

June 2021 – July 2021

Raytheon Technologies, El Segundo, CA

  • Participated in the Future Ready Engineers Program led by Raytheon professionals, gaining insights into best engineering practices.
  • Designed, analyzed, and presented a product aimed at solving a key global problem, utilizing data analysis and basic math skills to enhance the creative design process.
  • Led research and developed a multi-step plan to build a go-kart, proposing a college engineering program to secure students with funding and jobs to facilitate collaboration with professionals and companies.

Portfolio

Engineering projects spanning university competition teams, industry internships, and personal builds. Each designed, fabricated, and iterated hands-on.

Select any project to uncover more information

  • All
  • University
  • Personal
  • Work
FSAE Chassis

FSAE Chassis — AER

TIG welded space frame chassis for SDSU's FSAE EV car, optimized for torsional rigidity with ANSYS FEA.

Humanoid Robot

Humanoid Robot — JSB AI Center

Lead mechanical engineer on a 5-DOF emotionally expressive humanoid built on ROS2 and Isaac Sim, using quasi-direct drive actuators.

Teledyne Tooling

Tooling and Fixture Design — Teledyne Reynolds

Designed and delivered several critical manufacturing tools and fixtures used in high reliability production for defense and aerospace applications.

Go-Karts

Go-Karts

Designed and fabricated three go-karts from raw materials using SolidWorks, MIG welding, CVT tuning, hydraulic brakes, and modified 4-stroke engines.

Scissor Lift Grill

Scissor Lift Grill

Height-adjustable grill with scissor lift mechanism, built-in heating element, adjustable lighting, heat-resistant brick lining, and modular cooking surfaces. Designed and motion-tested in SolidWorks.

FPV Drones

FPV Drones

Fleet of three custom FPV drones built from scratch with analogue low-latency video.

Custom PC

Custom Desktop PC

High performance desktop PC with custom water cooling loop for CPU and VRMs.

FSAE IC Car Rebuild

FSAE IC Car Rebuild

Full teardown and rebuild of SDSU's last IC race car — 2003 Yamaha R6 engine.

Contact

Feel free to reach out — whether it's about engineering opportunities, project collaboration, or just to connect.

Location

Burbank, California

Phone

+1 (818) 934-7326

Email

chkrikorian@gmail.com

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