Kripa Shankar S.

About Kripa Shankar S.

I\'m a mechanical engineer who builds and breaks hardware for a living and learns more from the breaks.My day-to-day at Matic Robots involves executing and validating L5 autonomous robots at production scale applying the OQC protocol, catching supplier defects before they reach customers, and working with ME/MFG to fix problems at the source. Every build sharpens my instinct for where precision engineering meets real manufacturing constraints.My background spans electromechanical validation, materials characterization (SEM, XRD, Instron UTM), biomedical component design, and computational modeling on HPC clusters, with a peer-reviewed publication in Dalton Transactions. As BAJA SAE Team Captain I led a 25+ member team through fatigue, vibration, and durability validation from concept to competition.What drives me is the gap between a prototype that works on paper and hardware that survives real constraints and closing that gap through first-principles thinking, rigorous test methodology, and genuine cross-functional collaboration. Core Tools & Skills: SolidWorks (CSWA, CSWP, CSWA-AM), ANSYS, CATIA, Abaqus, COMSOL, Python, GD & T, Tolerance Analysis, Additive Manufacturing, Root Cause Analysis, Six Sigma, Design Validation, Rapid Prototyping, Instron Core Methods: DFMEA, PFMEA, GD & T, DFM/DFA, Six Sigma, FEA, NPI, RCA Open to hardware validation, reliability engineering, NPI, and medical device roles across robotics, consumer hardware, and biomedical engineering — let\'s connect.

Experience

1. Robotics Production Associate

   Matic Robots

   Dec 2025 — Present · Mountain View, CA, US

   Executing sub-system and component level validation of L5 autonomous electromechanical robots within a 50+ engineer production team at Matic Robots, Mountain View CA.The role was posted open to engineering backgrounds without formal production experience — I came in applying engineering judgment to validation, yield improvement, and cross-functional problem solving from day one- Executed and maintained mechanical validation protocols covering dimensional verification, torque spec compliance, sensor calibration, and release-gate sign-off across full OQC - Identified supplier-side part defects during incoming quality inspection and rework shifts, escalating to ME/MFG engineers to drive upstream corrective action, reducing supplier-side defect rate - Partnered with ME/MFG to surface recurring yield limiters, translating build findings into process updates that improved first-pass yield across multiple build stages- Contributed to high-velocity production build and backlog clearance of L5 autonomous robots ahead of marketing launch

Education

• NYU Tandon School of Engineering

  Masters, Mechanical Engineering

• Loyola School Thiruvananthapuram

  ISC, Science-PCM

  2006 — 2019

• Vellore Institute of Technology

  B.Tech, Mechanical Engineering