Chris Krikorian

I'm a Mechanical Engineer

About

Senior Mechanical Engineering student at 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 & Builder.

From FSAE race car chassis to humanoid robots and custom go-karts, I design and build mechanical systems end-to-end — from SolidWorks model to finished product.

  • Location: Burbank, California
  • Phone: +1 (818) 934-7326
  • Email: chkrikorian@gmail.com
  • Degree: B.S. Mechanical Engineering (2026)
  • University: San Diego State University
  • Clearance: U.S. Citizen, DoD Eligible

I've interned at Teledyne Reynolds and Apple, led chassis engineering for Aztec Electric Racing, and am currently heading mechanical integration on an emotionally expressive humanoid robot at SDSU's JSB Center for AI. I thrive at the intersection of design, fabrication, and cross-functional teamwork.

Skills

Technical skills spanning CAD design, simulation, manufacturing, and software tools developed through internships, university projects, and personal builds.

SolidWorks CAD / PDM 95%
Manufacturing & Welding (MIG/TIG) 85%
ANSYS / FEA Simulation 75%
Excel / VBA Scripting 80%
Additive & Subtractive Manufacturing 85%
MatLab / Python / ROS2 65%

Resume

Mechanical engineering senior with internship experience at defense and consumer tech companies, 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.

  • Burbank, California
  • (818) 934-7326
  • chkrikorian@gmail.com

Education

B.S. Mechanical Engineering

2022 – 2026

San Diego State University, San Diego, CA

Senior candidate. 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 in 304 stainless steel — 15% decrease in fixture downtime, estimated 6–8 months longer service life than 3D printed counterparts.
  • Created Radial Ink Jet Printing Fixtures accommodating 14 new products in the production assembly line.
  • Standardized spare parts process, contributing to a 23% improvement in downtime and audit compliance after a failed audit.
  • Designed seal mold tooling in SolidWorks (A2 Tool Steel) to Sandia Laboratory tolerances of ±0.002".
  • Built a VBA script reducing operations data refresh from 35 to 6 seconds.

Apple Support College Advisor

February 2024 – August 2024

Apple, Cupertino, CA

  • Provided technical support for iPhones, iPads, MacBooks, and iMacs.
  • Collaborated with Apple engineers and PMs to surface customer pain points and suggest product improvements.

Engineering Intern

June 2021 – July 2021

Raytheon Technologies, El Segundo, CA

  • Participated in the Future Ready Engineers Program led by Raytheon professionals.
  • Designed, analyzed, and presented a product addressing a global engineering problem.

Portfolio

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

  • All
  • University
  • Personal
  • Work
FSAE Chassis

FSAE Chassis — AER

TIG welded space frame chassis for SDSU's electric race car, optimized for torsional rigidity with ANSYS FEA. Led a team of 11 engineers.

Humanoid Robot

Humanoid Robot — JSB AI Center

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

Teledyne Tooling

Precision Tooling — Teledyne Reynolds

Designed seal mold tooling to ±0.002" Sandia Laboratory tolerances. Reverse engineered 40-year-old core pins. Reduced fixture downtime 15%.

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. Cut production cost 37% after the first build.

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. Modded Taranis QX7 with Crossfire for extended range. Continuously tuned with flight controller software.

Custom PC

Custom Desktop PC

High-performance build with i9-14900K and RX 7900 XTX, custom water-cooling loop for CPU and VRMs. DDR5 at 7200 MT/s. 99th percentile 3D benchmark scores, 4K gaming and fast simulation capable.

FSAE IC Car Rebuild

FSAE IC Car Rebuild

Full teardown and rebuild of SDSU's last IC race car — 2003 Yamaha R6 engine, chassis prep, suspension, and aero mounts.

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

Loading
Your message has been sent. Thank you!