Eduardo Villalobos

Welcome to my home page! My name is Eduardo Villalobos. I'm a student currently attending the University of Colorado Boulder in pursuit of a degree in Aerospace Engineering. I'm a very determined, curious, and energetic individual who loves to design and build things. I love the iterative design process, and manufacturing parts. I love the ability to come up with an idea and bring it to life using engineering.

Eduardo Villalobos Resume October 2024.pdf

A downloadable copy of my resume

Work Experience

Please note that I am actively updating!

~ April 2025 ~

SpaceX

Engineering Intern

May 2024 - August 2024

I'm back! This time I'm working with the first stage integration team for Falcon 9. What's really exciting about this opportunity is that this team is directly downstream from the team I worked on last summer! This time around, instead of building and integrating the Merlin 1D (M1D) engines onto the Octweb, our team is taking the finished Octaweb and integrating it onto the first stage! Despite working on different parts of the rocket, this team functioned very similarly to last summer's team! Our goal was to successfully integrate the Falcon 9 Stage 1 booster and complete checkouts on the finished booster, all while maintaining a high production cadence and a high margin for reliability.

Stage Checkouts

A large part of the team's job is to perform checkouts on the Stage 1 booster before shipping for static fire. This requires extensive knowledge of the vehicles propulsive systems and flight computers. The booster is brought to life for the first time while performing checkouts; going from a hunk of metal, to now a fully operational vehicle! This task brought about the highest variability in skill-set required. There were times when checkouts went as expected, and the vehicle was healthy! And there were other times where one problem led to another and problem-solving skills were needed in every aspect. Though the most stressful, this was the most fun part of the entire summer. I learned a ton about Falcon propulsion systems, prioritizing tasks, problem solving, and team work. Stage checkouts will be a cherished memory that I won't forget for a while. As a young undergraduate, it's rare to gain experience in large scale component testing... But to witness and support a full Falcon 9 Stage 1 checkout campaign is something very special. Thank you team for helping through all the tough times, keep kicking butt!

Stage 1 Quick Disconnect

One of Falcon 9's critical systems is the quick disconnect (QD) interfaces. These interfaces connect the rocket to pre-launch ground support equipment supplying liquid oxygen, fuel, nitrogen, helium, and other gasses needed for liftoff. The QD plates also include avionics harnessing which help monitor the rocket's health leading up to launch. In the factory, the QD plates on Falcon help teams complete the checkouts campaign as explained under the "Stage Checkouts" section. Our team connects a set of ground-side QD plates to the booster (let's call these GSE plates). The GSE plates are a mirror copy of Falcon's QD plates (let's call these the booster plates). The GSE plates supply compressed inert gasses to pressurize the stage and perform checkouts on the propulsion systems. The harnessing on the QD plates also allows us to "talk" to the booster and verify the flight computers are healthy.

One of my projects was to design a set tooling to protect the GSE plates. The goal was to design something that would effectively store the plates for long periods of time, while complying with cleanliness standards to ensure the booster wouldn't be contaminated. With the shop floor being so active all the time, this project had to remain small and modular to stay out of the way and conform to the quick movement on the shop floor.

Ultimately, this project brought about many unforseen problems and countless part drawing revisions. It was great to work with shop floor techs, and learn about how they interact with shop floor equipment.

Not exactly Hawthorne production but close enough!

ACS Checkouts Tooling

Falcon 9 is special in its ability to come back to launch site and land. In order to do so, the first stage must have an enhanced ability to maneuver in space. The stage comes equipped with an attitude control system (ACS) which consists of two pods. Each of these pods has 5 thrusters all pointing in different axes allowing the rocket to control itself in 5 of the 6 degrees of freedom. During the checkouts campaign (above), the ACS pods are tested for functionality and to verify polarity (correct thrusters fire when commanded).

My job was to design a tool that easily allowed engineers to verify that the correct pods were firing when they were supposed to. It is possible to have them incorrectly wired and accidentally have the thrusters backwards. The engineering team uses cameras to watch which pods fire, but it can be difficult to accurately tell which thruster fires. I ended up designing a part that could be water jet out to mount to the top of the pods. The pods however were coated with a thermal protection system (TPS) layer which prevented any sort of mounting. To address this problem, I had to contact a chain of people until I found the department where the individual pods were assembled. After talking with the manager of that team, we found a work-around to allow for mounting during testing. Ultimately, this meant that the pod team would not finish the TPS layer, and we would have to push that work towards the final integration lane after checkouts. This involved coordination between several teams, along with making sure the proper tooling and equipment was routed to the correct work center.

Designing the part required me to reach out to several different teams including structures, thermal, and propulsion to figure out what acceptable changes were allowed to the production part. I also needed to calculate exhaust velocities at the nozzle exit of each thruster based on values given to me by the propulsion team to ensure my part would not fail during testing. A failure of the tooling could potentially be very dangerous as it is directly in the path of a high velocity gas. Pieces could be shot across the shop floor at terrifying speeds. Once the part was designed, I needed to make part drawings and assembly drawings to get the part approved and parts ordered. This proved to be a lengthy process as the drawings went through many revisions. It was my first time creating detailed assembly/part drawings, so there was lots to learn. I also had to work with suppliers to work out the part design so that it could be manufactured.

Overall, this project was tons of fun! I got to work with shop techs to learn about the pod checkouts and what the problems with the process are. I designed a sheet metal part, and created detailed drawings for the production of the tool. I am happy that my project contributes to the safety of shop personnel and will make an impact for years to come!

SpaceX

Engineering Intern

May 2023 - August 2023

Over the summer of 2023, I had the wonderful opportunity of working with the Merlin Production team as an integration and test engineer. Our team worked with the shop floor techs to remove blockers and maintain a consistent output of both engines and Octaweb assemblies. The Octaweb is the assembly of the 9 Merlin engines shown to the right. It contains all the necessary tubing and valving for the operation of all 9 engines. The team worked on closing out issue tickets, which consists of finding solutions to problems that occurred during the engine assembly process, and found rationale to justify engineering decisions. This was done alongside working on projects that developed the production process even further cutting down on cost and reducing production rate for each engine.

Octaweb Contingent Riding Test Plan

As an intern, I got to participate with the team performing these everyday tasks, but was assigned personal projects to work on simultaneously. The largest project I worked on was a contingent work plan for hard lines with riding conditions inside of the Octaweb. Whenever two lines have a riding condition, shop techs would have to submit an issue ticket which our team would have to resolve with unique planning to solve the problem every time. This would happen many times per Octaweb build, resulting in lots of wasted time and unnecesary paperwork.

To complete this planning, I had to do an in-depth analysis of all types of tubes, sizes, and mating surfaces. Each different type of tube has different criteria that limit what you can do to rework the tube. Variables such as the bend radius, amount of times bent, mating surface type, tube material, and the temperature of the working fluid all change the allowable rework that can be done to the tube. To achieve this I had to take a deep dive into the SpaceX documentation, looking at dozens of drawings and specifications for each case. I then had to compile all of this information into a test plan that integrated with the existing work orders. The test plan included built-in logic that allowed technicians to input information on the conditions and receive guidance on the allowable rework.

Install TVC Clevis

On my last day, the techs allowed me to install a TVC clevis! This was just for fun, but it was one of the most memorable moments of the internship! It weighs around 150 pounds, and I had to lift it into place so that one of the techs could install the large bolt up top of the actuator. This was a purely physical task, but it was so much fun that I wanted to include it in here!

Fuel Guage Test Tooling

To explain vaguely, (NDA stuff), I designed a shop floor tool that allowed technicians to quickly verify the location of a fuel guage. The position of this sensor was crucial to its operation, and a tight tolerance was necessary to operate well. The technicians at the time had a very suboptimal method for determining this measurement which came with some doubts, it was my task to find a quicker method for validating the part. I decided to go with a visual go-no-go piece that mounted to surrounding geometry. If the part fell out of spec, it was easily identifiable, and rather than spending time in the work order to record the exact measurement, the completion requirement was converted to a pass/fail. I had to change the work order planning to incorporate these changes. To make the go-no-go guage, I had to go through several iterations, and perform testing to "calibrate" the guage to ensure it is within acceptable bounds. This project was one of the entry projects to dip my toes into the work process, so it was not too heavily involved with math, design, or administrative.

Falcon 9 Octaweb

MVac Accumulator Bottle Insulation

There are various COPV bottles around the MVac engine that need to be thermally shielded from the surrounding environment. After being built, the engines are shipped to Texas to be hot fired on a test stand. The plume produced by the engine creates enough radiative heating to pose a threat to the structure of the COPV. It takes 4-6 hours to wrap the COPV's with insulation, and I was tasked with designing a removable "snuggie-like" blanket for the bottles that could be quickly put on and taken off for the hot fires. This snuggie would save 4-6 hours per second MVac engine, which saves 12-18 hours per week alone (to maintain 3 second stages per week). In one year, that's 1278-2592 hours!

This project was very involved with first order approximations, testing, and qualification. The goal was to remove flight hardware which requires tons of signatures, and very good rationale. Putting together enough test data and assumptions to prove that the insulation was not needed on the COPV's during flight was a large enough task on its own. However, even more testing and qualifiication was needed to allow the "snuggie" to be used on flight hardware during hot-fires. A failure of one of those COPV's would likely destroy an engine, delay launch timelines, and potentially damage critical ground hardware. So convincing the RE's that this new snuggie design didn't increase any risk took a lot of engineering and testing.

During this process, I put together some planning on a work order to install temperature stickers to gather information on the thermodynamic environment. Using the information from these stickers along with some assumptions, I was able to put together a model that allowed us to design new insulation. I then used a first order model to calculate the expected performance of the new insualtion, and compared it to the existing insulation. When those numbers closely matched, we knew we had done a great job!

Lastly, I had to work with the soft goods shop to find a way to manufacture these snuggies such that they can be installed quickly by the techs on site. We had to figure out logistics on when the snuggies can be installed. It has to be left on for both engine testing and stage testing, but has to be taken off before flight. All in all, this project was very involved, and I learned a lot! I designed a part with set requirements, collaborated with several teams, used created a first order model, updated old SpaceX documentation, and much more!

Boom Supersonic

Supersonic Intern

June 2022 - August 2022

This summer I had the incredible opportunity to work at Boom Supersonic. My roles as an engineer there were focused mostly on CAD design work on the Ironbird structure. Ironbird is a full-scale skeleton model of the Overture designed to fully test and integrate all of the aircraft's flight components and systems. I also designed and assembled a mockup-cockpit of the Overture aircraft. This gave the avoinics engineers a great platform to prototype control panel layouts. It also provided design teams crucial feedback on the urgonomics of the cabin and identified key design changes.

Working here was incredibly difficult mostly because I was also taking summer classes at the same time. I was presented with the new challenge of having a full-time job while being a full-time student still at CU. I had to find new ways to be productive, and I had to develop new study habits. I learned the significance of sleep, and how important it is to continue to conduct meaningful work. Despite the excessive workload, I had a wonderful time, and I learned

Unfortunately I can't provide any other awesome pictures of this internship given that all of the information is proprietary.

The XB-1 Aircraft

HQ 3 in Centennial, Colorado

Engineering Support Student

University of Colorado Boulder

January 2021 - August 2022

At the University of Colorado Boulder, there's a building called the Integrated Teaching and Learning Lab. ITLL for short. Since the start of the 2021 spring semester, I've been working as an Engineering Support Student (ESS). As an ESS, it's my job to teach skill-building workshops, help students with their engineering projects, and maintain the building by completing miscellaneous tasks. It's been an absolute blast working here! I've learned all kinds of things since starting to work here. Everything ranging from knowing how to fix a 3D printer, to learning how to teach a class. This job is so diverse in the tasks that I have to complete, that no matter how long I work here, I'm always getting asked new questions that I don't know the answers to. Every year, students come up with creative projects, and I help them build those projects by answering questions and teaching them how to use the manufacturing tools offered here at the ITLL.

3D Printing wall at the ITLL

Castle Rock Water

Engineering Intern

August 2019 - November 2019

Over the fall semester of 2019, I interned at the Castle Rock Water company. This business is responsible for delivering water the all the town's residents.

My role was to tag along with the engineers working there, and help solve problems, as well as carry out everyday tasks. Most people don't ever think about how running water works, but it was a fantastic experience to learn how it happens, and where it comes from. Surprisingly, because of the topography of Castle Rock, around 80% of the water supply to residents is gravity fed. What this means is that there's a large water tank nearby that is located at a high elevation. This high elevation provides water pressure, and takes away the need to pump the water to the homes. This also has the added benefit of maintaining water pressure even if the power goes out.

This picture was taken at one of the town's lift stations. These stations redirect all the wastewater to an out-of-town treatment plant that then re-processed the water to be used again. On this day, we were having issues redirecting the water, and required us to use several of the large vacuum trucks which can be seen in the background.

This is a picture of the basement at one of the water treatment plants. The pipes labeled "RAW WATER" carried water coming straight from the streams, or from aquifers.

Teaching Assistant

University of Colorado Boulder

August 2021 - December 2021

For the fall semester of 2021, I thought I would like to be a teaching assistant (TA) for a freshman level physics course. I really enjoy the idea of teaching others and helping students conceptualize physical phenomena. As a TA, I ran office hours which were a time where students could come and ask any questions. Most students would come for help on homework or help studying for exams. I really loved watching the students grow and develop with my help. My favorite part of the job was the "Ohhh moment" where something clicks with the student and they understand what I'm explaining. As a TA, I also helped with general grading, and setting up for labs and exams. Overall, the job was challenging because I was taking a heavy course load alongside with the current job that I still hold at the ITLL as an ESS. I was extremely busy that semester, and this job was another responsibility that I had to make time for.

My background

I was born in the beautiful city of Colorado Springs in Colorado. At the age of 4, my family moved to Castle Rock, which is just about a half hour north of the springs. Since then, I attended all grades through 12, and graduated from high school. I attended Academy Charter School for kindergarten through 8th grade, and proceeded to attend Castle View High School for the next 4 years.

During my time in middle school, I didn't really know what I wanted to study when I grew up. That decision came to me at a career fair in 8th grade when I first heard of Lockheed Martin. I remember that as the day that I decided I would study engineering.

After graduating middle school, I decided to attend Castle View High School for their engineering program. They had really cool 3D printers and a CNC machine that could mill out almost anything you could think of. They also had an entire workshop, something that I had never seen in a school. Over the course of the 4 years, that workshop became my home. I would spend my time after school in the workshop building projects almost everyday after school. I joined an engineering club called TSA and competed in competitions. Senior year, right before COVID hit, I was awarded second place at the state competition for the CO2 Dragster event. Click on the CO2 Dragster to read more about it.

It was at Castle View I ultimately decided that I wanted to study aerospace after graduating. It didn't take a lot of research to find out that Boulder had a fantastic aerospace program, and it was just an hour's drive north. I applied as soon as I could, and then I waited for what felt like ages. But finally, in February of 2020, I was accepted to the University of Colorado Boulder.

Since then, I have absolutely loved my time living in Boulder. The resources that the school provides are incredible, and they've allowed me to build almost anything I've wanted to design. I really look forward to finishing my degree here and graduating in May of 2024.

Castle View High School

The beautiful town of Castle Rock

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