Darren Finn Forschino
Aerospace Engineer · Mechanical Design, Thermal Analysis & Flight Hardware
Aerospace engineer with Northrop Grumman IRAD experience developing mechanical designs and thermal analyses for airborne electronics hardware. Experienced in Siemens NX, Simcenter Thermal, engineering drawings, manufacturing support, requirements verification, and high-power sounding-rocket development.
Education
Syracuse University — Syracuse, NY
MAY 2026
B.S. Aerospace Engineering · Minor in Computer Science
GPA: 3.6
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Dean's List: 7 semesters
Relevant Coursework
Propulsion · Thermodynamics · Aircraft Performance · Fluid Mechanics · Aerodynamics · Aerospace Structures · Control Systems
Engineering
Experience
Experience
Mechanical Engineering Intern
MAY 2024 — PRESENT
Northrop Grumman
Seasonal & part-time
- →Designed conduction-cooled electronics packaging using first-principles thermal calculations and Simcenter Thermal FEA to evaluate component temperature margin and guide mechanical design.
- →Iterated mechanical and thermal design in Siemens NX, selected thermal interface materials, and performed fastener and interface-pressure checks supporting the conduction path from components to the chassis.
- →Created part and assembly drawings supporting manufacturing, assembly, and mechanical integration; identified an assembly-level form/fit discrepancy between analysis geometry and as-built hardware, and corrected the design before the issue propagated further.
- →Contributed CAD and thermal-analysis work, presented in technical design reviews with senior engineers, and supported requirements verification, manufacturing, assembly, and fit-up troubleshooting across two summer internships and intermittent academic-year assignments.
Engineering
Project
Project
Senior Design Capstone — High-Power Rocket
JAN 2026 — MAY 2026
Syracuse University — Syracuse, NY
- →Developed and integrated Teensy-based flight avionics with inertial and barometric sensing, onboard data acquisition, recovery interfaces, and experimental servo-actuated flight controls for a five-person high-power rocket capstone.
- →Designed the avionics pod, payload housing, motor casing, and motor-retention hardware; assembled the avionics stack, motor retention, and final recovery system, including nylon-webbing connections and deployment electronics.
- →Contributed to system layout, mass budgeting, and performance trades for a high-power rocket targeting a ~10,000-ft mission under strict budget and packaging constraints using SolidWorks, MATLAB, and team-developed OpenRocket simulations.
- →Collected and consolidated onboard flight data across three development vehicles, participated in failure diagnosis, and contributed to the recovery-system redesign following the first small-scale flight test.
Technical
Skills
Skills
CAD / Analysis
Siemens NX · Simcenter Thermal · SolidWorks · MATLAB · Excel
Programming / HW
Python · Arduino / Teensy · Git
Engineering
Mechanical design · Engineering drawings · Dimensional clearances · Electronics packaging · Hardware integration · Requirements verification · Manufacturing support · Assembly support · Design reviews