Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Timeline
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Grace Melcher

Austin,TX

Summary

Roses are red; violets are blue. I solve problems; let me solve them for you.

Program manager with a record of turning complex, technical initiatives into scalable solutions. Skilled at aligning R&D with business goals and execution across teams to deliver innovation that actually ships.

Overview

6
6
years of professional experience

Work History

Project Manager: Advanced Structures

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02.2025 - Current
  • Developed software tools (e.g. variable-layer) automating structural implementation and field documentation, reducing cost by ~$18k per home.
  • Spearheaded the design of the first large-scale 3D-printed Catenary Dome structure, establishing a new framework for printable shell structures.
  • Presented co-authored findings of Catenary Dome print at IASS 2025.
  • Transitioned R&D construction technologies to scalable solutions.

Program Manager: Arches, Domes, & Vaults

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02.2023 - 02.2025
  • Led cross-functional teams to transform high-risk architectural experimentation into functional building enclosures.
  • Managed and engineered the House of Phoenix, the first multi-story (27 ft), freeform shell printed with the largest six-axis 3D printer in the world.
  • Defined and implemented new operation strategies for next-generation printing while unifying robotics, structural, and field teams around a shared architectural vision.

Application Testing Engineer

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02.2022 - 02.2023
  • Invented a cantilevered printing paradigm, enabling innovative projects and reducing construction costs by 15% across cantilevered geometries.
  • Planned and executed tests to validate novel printed geometries.
  • Led software, structural, and operations teams to deliver the Cosmic Pavilion, the first 3D-printed freeform stage for SXSW 2023.
  • Translated findings into protocols and performance metrics; published findings in Structure Magazine and IASS Proceedings (2024).

Business Consultant Analyst

Accenture
01.2021 - 02.2022
  • Built data-driven models optimizing defense and utility operations, yielding measurable cost savings and resource efficiency gains.
  • Led software development of automation processes for defense operation

Data Management Engineer

Vicinity
06.2020 - 01.2021
  • Developed a signal processing model to forecast demand and optimize steam generation for a cogeneration power plant in Boston, creating annual savings of $80,000.

Research Development Project engineer

AI Spacefactory
06.2019 - 12.2019
  • Engineered structural model in Abaqus for 3D-printed TERA project essential for realization.

Education

Masters of Engineering - Structural Engineering

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA
06.2020

Bachelor’s of Science - Structural Engineering

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA
06.2019

Skills

  • Project management and operations strategy
  • Cross-functional leadership
  • Technical research and development
  • Data analysis
  • Innovation Management
  • Structural engineering and 3D printing technology

Timeline

Project Manager: Advanced Structures

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02.2025 - Current

Program Manager: Arches, Domes, & Vaults

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02.2023 - 02.2025

Application Testing Engineer

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02.2022 - 02.2023

Business Consultant Analyst

Accenture
01.2021 - 02.2022

Data Management Engineer

Vicinity
06.2020 - 01.2021

Research Development Project engineer

AI Spacefactory
06.2019 - 12.2019

Masters of Engineering - Structural Engineering

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Bachelor’s of Science - Structural Engineering

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Grace Melcher