Leo Galoso
Hello!
And welcome to my portfolio. Here are some key projects I've led throughout my professional career.
My experience has been in aerospace and agricultural hardware, environments demanding robust, production-ready engineering. I'm looking to bring that technical rigor to where my passion has always been: consumer electronics, robotics, and R&D. I thrive working alongside passionate, highly-technical people on varied, challenging hardware problems.
My CV includes full work history and core capabilities (electromechanical packaging, thermal management, surface modeling, tolerancing, DFM at scale).
Outside of work (emphasis on being “outside”) I like to be in the pottery studio, ride my bike, eat and drink with friends and family, be around animals, play soccer, and visit new spaces and places. I also love to watch college football and motorsports.
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Portfolio
RTX Corporation
Mechanical Design Engineer II
June 2024 - Present
Electromechanical Packaging & Thermal Design
Packaging and thermal architecture for high-density aerospace electronics, focusing on integration constraints in sealed, thermally-limited environments.
Compact Electronics Integration
Designed chassis and blind-mate interconnects for modular signal processors in space-constrained assemblies. Managed EMI shielding, precise interface alignment, and thermal expansion across operating temperature ranges.
Thermal Management in Sealed Enclosures
Developed cooling for high-flux electronics in thermally-constrained sealed assemblies. Optimized machined aluminum heat sinks and thermal interface materials for conduction-limited pathways. Validated thermal performance through CFD correlation and physical testing.
Material Characterization & Problem Solving
Built a Python reduced-order model to characterize elastomer compression behavior. Correlated simulation predictions with experimental testing to unblock design decisions on critical isolation components.
Tools PTC Creo, Python
Manufacturing CNC machining, anodizing/chem-film, sheet metal, 3D printing (SLS, FDM), GD&T
John Deere, Intelligent Solutions Group
Product Design Engineer & Thermal Engineer
June 2022 - June 2024
Electromechanical Packaging & Thermal Design
Packaging and thermal architecture for autonomous agricultural equipment and electrification systems, working across industrial design, electrical engineering, and manufacturing from concept through production.
Autonomy Hardware Integration
Designed packaging for the 9R tractor’s first-generation autonomy suite - cameras, LiDAR, and compute modules in metal and plastic housings. Isolated hardware from chassis vibration, water spray, and debris while maintaining optical and thermal performance.
Power Electronics & Thermal
Developed cooling for high-voltage inverters, DC-DC converters, and compute modules. Delivered liquid-cooled cold plates, machined and casted aluminum heat sinks, and injection-molded housings.
Simulation & Iteration Speed
Built Python automation around Ansys Fluent to parametrically generate and simulate motor spray ring geometries. Used Siemens Amesim for hydraulic modeling to evaluate tradeoffs before hardware builds.
Tools PTC Creo, Ansys Fluent/Icepak/SpaceClaim, Siemens Amesim, Python
Manufacturing CNC machining, sheet metal, die casting, injection molding, Class-A surfacing, GD&T
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Human Factors & Aging Lab
Undergraduate Research Assistant, Human-Robot Interaction
January 2019 - January 2022
Human-Robot Interaction & Mobile Manipulator Hardware
Designed and prototyped mechanical systems for a domestic mobile robot, the Hello Robot Stretch RE2, focusing on elder care applications and autonomous environment interaction.
End-Effector & Manipulator Design
Designed and manufactured custom end-effectors and rigid manipulators for the Stretch mobile robot. Iterated on gripper mechanisms to handle varied household objects while meeting size and weight constraints for safe human-robot interaction.
Autonomous Navigation & System Integration
Implemented 3D mapping systems using odometry and sensor fusion for autonomous environment navigation. Debugged and troubleshot mechanical and software systems to ensure reliable robot operation during live user trials with older adults and those with disability.
Human-Centered Testing & Analysis
Developed hierarchical task analysis frameworks to evaluate autonomous and teleoperated robot capabilities. Conducted user studies to assess mechanical design decisions against human factors requirements for older adult users.
Tools Siemens NX, Python, ROS
Manufacturing 3D printing (FDM, SLS), GD&T