Carlos Cardona
San Luis Obispo,CA
Summary
Director level engineering leader with successful design and cross-functional management experience and expertise in planning, design, testing, integration and supervision of the development and installation of electrical and mechanical equipment in projects for power generation, Part 23 & Part 25 aircrafts, and manufacturing lines.
Overview
10
10
years of professional experience
4
4
Certification
Work History
Senior EWIS Engineering Manager
Honda Research Institute
02.2025 - Current
- Engineering lead responsible for overseeing the new vehicle design, integration, test, and aircraft integration of all cables (LV, HV, RF, ARINC 429, COAX, RF, Discreet, Ethernet) in the sustainment and development.
- Increase team productivity by 20% in the first year of my tenure in the company by developing a role and responsibility task distribution strategy resulting in an overall improvement of the program delivery (~2months pulled to the left).
Senior EWIS Engineering Manager
Lilium GmBH
02.2024 - 02.2025
- Senior cross-functional manager overseeing 20 engineers and responsible for the procurement, design, integration, test the design and aircraft integration of all cables (LV, HV, RF, ARINC 429, COAX, RF, Discreet, Ethernet) in the sustainment and development 8 Million Euro aircraft programs.
- Increase team productivity by ~20% in the first year of my tenure in the company by developing a role and responsibility task distribution strategy resulting in an overall improvement of the program delivery (~2months pulled to the left).
- Develop an agile sprint based task and subtask burn strategy were each lead would track and report program KPIs adopting release volume and first-time quality for the first team in the team.
- Managed an extended cross-functional team were stakeholders to define technical requirements aligned with business objectives, as measured by stakeholder satisfaction surveys.
Senior EWIS Systems Engineering Lead
Joby Aviation
03.2023 - 03.2024
- Lead the EWIS systems engineering team responsible for developing the air vehicle 200+ air vehicle wiring requirements and establishing the FAA certification roadmap and certification strategy.
- Facilitated PDRs across 12 aircraft subsystems, ensuring electrical/mechanical design maturity reached >95% requirement coverage and 100% regulatory alignment prior to design freeze.
- Applied V&V methods to track and resolve 150+ open issues, accelerating resolution cycles by 30% and reducing downstream rework.
- Main FAA interface for EWIS Issue Paper to compare and create the High Voltage Wiring Interconnection System certification strategy. Impacted Facilitate electrical/mechanical functional PDR planning and execution: Ensure electrical wiring development plan, regulatory requirements, and preliminary design verification has consistent maturity across systems. Apply V&V methods, tag open issues, and review for correctness.
EWIS Integrated Product Team Lead (Technical Program Manager)
Wisk Aero LLC
11.2021 - 03.2023
- Served as primary point of contact for all EWIS activities across 5 cross-functional IPTs, reporting directly to the SVP of Engineering within the PMO; ensured seamless coordination of technical decisions across disciplines.
- Directed full lifecycle development of EWIS systems (concept → validation), managing a $10M+ IPT budget and delivering programs to schedule.
- Led 20+ multidisciplinary program reviews with internal executives and external stakeholders, improving decision cycle time by ensuring alignment with certification roadmaps.
- Built and mentored a high-performance IPT team, improving cross-functional communication and reducing requirement churn by 30% through proactive systems engineering practices.
- Led the end-to-end development process, overseeing concept, architecture, design, integration, validation, performance assessment, and risk management. Managed a substantial budget, conducted multidisciplinary program reviews, and delivered presentations to internal and external stakeholders.
United Kingdom Principal Systems Engineer
Northrop Grumman Corporation (Aerospace Systems)
09.2019 - 02.2020
- DIrected cross-functional sustainment of the Vanguard integrated platform spanning U.S. and U.K. fleets, managing 50+ system modifications, enhancements, and upgrades to meet evolving mission needs and customer specifications.
- Served as principal civilian liaison between the U.S. Navy fleet squad and U.K. fleet; coordinated with Joint Chiefs’ offices to resolve 100+ maintenance issues annually and prioritize future upgrade roadmaps.
- Delivered technical analyses and implementation plans for platform modifications, reducing downtime by 15% and improving fleet availability.
- Facilitated bilateral collaboration among U.S., U.K., and allied stakeholders, ensuring 100% compliance with sustainment requirements across two national defense ministries.
- Influenced long-term sustainment strategy by identifying recurring system risks and recommending corrective actions, directly impacting multi-fleet operational readiness.
Electrical Harness Design Engineer, Autonomous Air Vehicle
Electrical Integration Lead, Triton Advanced Development
04.2018 - 12.2019
- Led a 3-person cross-functional engineering team through the full lifecycle of system design, procurement, test, and integration across U.S. government facilities and Northrop hangars.
- Coordinated and integrated multiple payloads into a Gulfstream II testbed, enabling a $2.2M Sense-and-Avoid contract award and supporting the 2019 U.S. Navy Fleet Tactical Exercise.
- Directed concept-to-test execution, ensuring on-time delivery of risk-reduction efforts that advanced the Triton program toward operational readiness.
- Partnered with program leadership and Navy stakeholders to align technical milestones with fleet integration needs, demonstrating the platform’s viability for future deployment.
Global Logistics Autonomous Systems Reliability Engineer
Sense and Avoid (SAA) Electrical Hardware Engineer
02.2016 - 07.2016
- Responsible engineer for the predictions on reliability metrics, integration, and operational suitability analyses for Fuel and Pneumatic systems on Global Hawk and Triton Platforms. Coordinated with Integrated Product Teams (IPTs), Cost Account Managers (CAMs), and Work Package Managers (WPMs) to ensure established baselines that are executable to cost and schedule requirements.
- Identified and provide recommendations for corrective actions based on Failure Modes Effects Analysis, Failure Modes Corrective Action Analysis, Mean Time to Repair (MTTR), and Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) metrics as well as failure type resulting in mitigation of cost/schedule impacts.
Education
Bachelor in Science of Electrical Engineering - B.S.E.E
University Of Puerto Rico – Mayaguez Campus
Puerto Rico05.2015
Systems Engineering Graduate Certificate -
California Institute of Technology
Los Angeles California12.2016
Skills
AS50881, AC4313, JIRA, Polarion, Concur, Lever, Namely, Coupa, Sapling, Confluence, SEE Electrical, Capital, LucidChart, NX, Microsoft Project, Confluence, Capital(Harness Logic, Harness Xc, Mentor Graphics), Engineering LifeCycle (Electrical Interconnect, Harness, Documentation, Design), Cross Functional Management, Java, S100D Standard, ACS Standards, CATIA V5, HarneSYS, AutoCAD (Autodesk and Electrical), MatLab, Python, OSHA, NEC & NFPA codes, FOD, ESD Certified
Awards
Customer Excellence in Mission Support Award 2019
Performance Recognition Price for Excellence in Firebird SAA Flight Test 2016/2017
Dale Carnegie Outstanding Performance Award 2016
Honeywell Bravo Award Recipient for Excellence (x2) 2014/2015
Languages
Spanish
Native or Bilingual
English
Native or Bilingual
German
Elementary
Certification
- Northrop Leadership Development Program 2018
- Caltech System Engineering Certificate 2017
- Dale Carnegie, Leading Engagement Program 2016
- ReliAsoft Systems Reliability and Maintainability Analysis and Optimization Certified 2016
- Lean Six Sigma – White Belt Graduate 2015
- Richard Tapia Conference Technical Paper Presenter 2010
PATENT
(Pending) Multi-Battery Charging Station Which Provides Battery-Specific Charging Parameters 2021
Timeline
Senior EWIS Engineering Manager
Honda Research Institute
02.2025 - Current
Senior EWIS Engineering Manager
Lilium GmBH
02.2024 - 02.2025
Senior EWIS Systems Engineering Lead
Joby Aviation
03.2023 - 03.2024
EWIS Integrated Product Team Lead (Technical Program Manager)
Wisk Aero LLC
11.2021 - 03.2023
United Kingdom Principal Systems Engineer
Northrop Grumman Corporation (Aerospace Systems)
09.2019 - 02.2020
Electrical Harness Design Engineer, Autonomous Air Vehicle
Electrical Integration Lead, Triton Advanced Development
04.2018 - 12.2019
Global Logistics Autonomous Systems Reliability Engineer
Sense and Avoid (SAA) Electrical Hardware Engineer
02.2016 - 07.2016
Bachelor in Science of Electrical Engineering - B.S.E.E
University Of Puerto Rico – Mayaguez Campus
Systems Engineering Graduate Certificate -
California Institute of Technology
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