# Sanan Akhundzada > Senior Mechanical Design Engineer at Tesla Location: San Francisco Bay Area, United States Profile: https://flows.cv/sanan ## Work Experience ### Senior Mechanical Design Engineer - Vehicle Exterior Systems @ Tesla Jan 2022 – Present | San Francisco Bay Area Robotaxi (Cybercab) Future Programs ### Mechanical Design Engineer - Vehicle Exterior Systems @ Tesla Jan 2020 – Jan 2022 | San Francisco Bay Area Full design responsibility and ownership (clean slate to mass production) of plastic/metal/composite exterior components for existing and future vehicle programs. Developed exterior parts/systems for: - Model S/X Plaid - Model 3/Y - Cybertruck - Semi Truck ### Exteriors Design Engineering Intern @ Tesla Jan 2019 – Jan 2019 | Fremont, CA My internship on the Exteriors Design team at Tesla gave me an opportunity to take a deep dive into the component level design of exterior components and appreciate the meticulous detail and care that goes into every part designed for Tesla's vehicles. This entailed working on the design of vehicle badges/emblems, decklid spoilers, and other underhood plastic trim components. ### Product Design Integration Intern @ Tesla Jan 2018 – Jan 2019 | Palo Alto, CA I spent one year on the Product Design Integration team at Tesla where I supported the design of existing (Model S, X, 3) and new vehicle programs (Model Y, Semi Truck). It was an invaluable experience to be able to see all facets of the design process for these incredibly complex machines. The integration team is closely involved throughout the entire life-cycle of the product. Starting from the early design stages to establish product architecture/layout, to working together with styling, design, and manufacturing teams to develop and optimize designs, and propelling the design through its maturation by building physical mock-up vehicle prototypes to rapidly validate key design decisions. ### Equipment Design Engineering Intern @ Tesla Jan 2018 – Jan 2018 | Fremont, CA During my first internship at Tesla, I supported the design of equipment on the Model S & X battery pack line with a focus on serviceability and reliability. Some of the larger projects I took on include: introducing a new cooling tube splicing process (25 min faster, $20k/year material savings), iteratively designing and prototyping a modular resistance measurement tool for easier troubleshooting, and leading the integration of a new double bolt feeder system for cycle time reduction. In addition to these I was responsible for the design, drafting and procurement of over 35 unique plastic and metal components using various manufacturing processes (milling, turning, welding, forming, laser cutting, 3D printing) which were used to improve productivity in different parts of the line. ### Mechanical Engineering Intern @ ecobee Jan 2017 – Jan 2017 | Toronto, ON At ecobee I worked on the development of a new smart light switch device (Switch+) through conducting DFA and FMEA investigations which resulted in an improved design efficiency and reduction of operational costs by $0.5573/unit. I also designed a test fixture for connecting the Switch+ to a computer through serial communication for EOL/QA testing, and applied GD&T on drawings to create dimensional part inspection sheets for pre-production capability studies. Aside from working on smart light switches, I led the packaging design of a cheaper bare-bones thermostat build and worked with international suppliers to evaluate the most cost-effective approach. A lot of my term was also spent on the quality side of things, where I assisted in developing the groundwork for ecobee's quality management system through the creation of a paperless email-based ECR/ECO system and a supplier quality assurance manual. ecobee designs elegant wi-fi enabled smart home devices for use in residential and commercial applications. ### Process Engineering Associate @ Baylis Medical Company Jan 2016 – Jan 2016 | Mississauga, ON At Baylis my main task was to design a press tool to improve ergonomics in the NRG needle assembly line. This included conducting preliminary testing, creating prototypes, holding design reviews, and writing tool documentation. Aside from this I led multiple improvement projects for the NRG line which resulted in over $30,000 savings/year, and also redesigned existing tooling to reduce wear, improve operator ergonomics and eliminate obsolete components. A lot of my time was also spent running tests and implementing preventative measures for 3 different CAPA's. Baylis Medical is an internationally renowned leading developer of medical devices used in cardiology and spinal procedures. ### Manufacturing Engineering Intern @ ShadeFX Jan 2016 – Jan 2016 | Milton, ON At ShadeFX, the big focus was to optimize in-house workflow by defining work areas and automating preliminary manufacturing processes. This entailed constructing assembly work stations utilizing lean principles to create a streamlined production space and designing CNC tooling plates for processing large extruded aluminum pergola structures at higher volumes. I also created a new process for in-house production of pergola accessory items. I was responsible for machining and building up all of the fixtures that I designed which gave me a strong understanding of design for manufacturability along with invaluable hands-on skills. ShadeFX designs and manufactures retractable single track canopy systems for use in residential and commercial applications. ### Hardware Engineering Intern @ Quanser Jan 2015 – Jan 2015 | Waterloo, ON Quanser gave me the opportunity to gain experience in mechanical, electrical, and software design. My main project consisted of developing the QNET Actuators Board end-of-line tester by designing the PCB layout/routing (CADSTAR) and creating a testing front panel (LabVIEW). I also worked on revamping the actuation method of a linear inverted pendulum to mitigate wear and redesigned the sheet metal enclosure of a current amplifier for easier assembly. Other tasks included creating 3-D models of electrical components and troubleshooting batches of failed circuit boards from customers to determine root cause. Quanser designs products and course-ware to change the way universities teach the fundamentals of controls, robotics, and mechatronics. ## Education ### Bachelor of Applied Science (BASc) in Mechanical Engineering University of Waterloo ## Contact & Social - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/sananakhundzada --- Source: https://flows.cv/sanan JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/sanan/resume.json Last updated: 2026-04-13