Aiden Banan — Engineering Portfolio

Launch Engineering Intern

SpaceX

Sep. 2025– Dec. 2025 • Vandenberg SLC-4E, CA

Incoming Fall Intern; scheduled to contribute to launch pad ground support and testing operations for Falcon 9

Main Wings Engineer

Flying Leathernecks Aviation Museum

Jul. 2025– Present • Irvine, CA

Modeling and manufacturing a full-scale model of the Curtiss JN-4D biplane to be displayed in the museum, opening 2027
Managing BOM for all wing structures, including personally CAD-designed sockets and aileron webs, engineering drawings, part material, original manufacturer, and required quantity

Flight Structures Engineer (Prev. Manufacturing Engineer)

UCI Cargo Plane

Jun. 2024– Present • Irvine, CA

Flight Structures Engineer (As of May 2025)

Promoted to the Flight Structures team, initiating early design planning for the next competition cycle focusing on structural design and FEA, NACA 4418 airfoil selection, and material trade studies

Manufacturing Engineer (Jun. 2024- Jun. 2025)

Optimized and assembled the wings of the plane and various control surfaces utilizing personally sanded and laser-cut wooden webs, spars, gussets, and fastening hardware
Fabricated structural components of a 15-ft wingspan balsa/spruce plane that flew with a 15-lb payload at SAE Aero 2025
Developed an efficient jig/fixture pegboard system for wing structures fastening during assembly, increasing wing rib manufacturing productivity and accelerating timeline by up to 7 hours weekly

Suspension Engineer (Prev. Chassis Frame Engineer)

UCI Anteater Baja Racing

Jun. 2024– Present • Irvine, CA

Suspension Engineer (As of May 2025)

Optimized suspension kinematics metrics for geometry (camber rate, roll center); designed front/rear upper control arms in SolidWorks; ran FEA with bump and shock forces to determine wall thickness

Chassis Frame Engineer (Jun. 2024- Jun. 2025)

CAD designed and manufactured a rear-braced chromoly steel Baja SAE vehicle chassis that completed 9 laps in the May 2025 SAE Baja Endurance competition
Spearheaded an accepted proposal to create a wood panel/metal extrusion hybrid jig as a more efficient, sustainable, and reusable method for chassis welding, as previous years’ cars struggled to pass technical inspection due to large weld gaps
Led manufacturing processes for the team including hydraulic tube bending, angle grinding, and SolidWorks weldment profiling; laser cut welding jig wood panels and designed ASA 3D-printed fixures for driveshaft firewall gap concealment

NASA Proposal Writing and Evaluation Experience - Team Role: Chief Scientist

NASA L’SPACE Program

Jan. 2025– May 2025 • Remote

Engaged in weekly lectures taught by NASA scientists, engineers, and managers as part of a team of 9 students
Studied industry standards for proposal writing and facilitated discussion as the primary reviewer on a NASA panel to review the feasibility of a proposed post-fire wildlife rehabilitation drone utilizing neural networking
Managedteamresearch on mission-essential instrumentation and entry, descent, and landing protocol to author a technical proposal for a re-entry model with controlled spacecraft atmospheric descent in response to a request from NASA Marshall

Lead Control Systems Engineer

UCI Mechanical Systems Lab

Jan. 2025– Apr. 2025 • Irvine, CA

Developed a hybrid control system combining Arduino and MATLAB for a robotic vehicle using piston crankshaft propulsion and Ackerman steering
Led controls research and integration, ensuring precise operation and responsiveness through code and circuit testing
Optimized sensor feedback, motor actuation, velocity calculation, max steering angle, and overall system efficiency