Taylor Mitchell

Part of a small team of highly trained vehicle test controllers. Our team is responsible for all West coast testing & operating of the Falcon 9 rocket at Vandenberg SFB. We interface with advanced software to offload propellant, perform high pressure system testing, and review test data to ensure the vehicle is flight-ready on launch day.

Managed all tools used to refurbish the Falcon 9 launch vehicle from procurement, repair, fabrication to testing.

Conferred with engineers and designers to investigate and solve failure issues.

Managed all ground support equipment for the F9 refurb and final integration teams. Lifting equipment, gas commodities, high pressure instrumentation and testing.

Performed final avionics testing of all customer satellites prior to launch.

Managed communication between different stakeholders to gather information, resolve differences and implement improvements.

Installation, troubleshooting, and maintenance of over 3000 electrical devices on the launch pad. I built 15 cDAQ command and control panels that provide telemetry during normal pad operations and launch, improving the design with each iteration. Our launches cause considerable damage to electrical systems, my focus here has been to reduce pad refurbishment by implementing robust solutions. The DCS team and mechanical team merged in late 2022, but I remained on night shift as the POC for all electrical issues. Training, quality control, and heading up large upgrade projects(from design to implementation)! One month into my job I redesigned an electrical system that saw constant failure every launch. The new design was a massive success and was implemented to other launch sites.

I was responsible for the electrical wiring of CNC door production machines.

I used my knowledge & experience with military-quality production standards to elevate the build processes and constantly strive for a more efficient method. After I was brough on, I was quickly infused into the team responsible for the newest and most complex machines built at KVAL. I worked closely with the engineering team and my supervisor to maximize work flow, quality and make everyone happy.

After 6 months of materials casting, I was tasked individually with assembly, troubleshooting, repair and efficiency modifications of a state-of-the-art series of K9 full body simulators(K9 Hero & K9 Diesel). After our engineer and design team completed R&D, I built every unit while focusing on lowering cost & improving production capabilities. I worked hand-in-hand with engineers, machinists and designers on ways to make the product the best it could be. Sub-assembly, complete assembly, documentation, troubleshooting, and repairs on over 150 K9 units.