JOSH SHERREITT / MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
Josh
Sherreitt
Mechanical Engineer, Waterman and Outdoor Enthusiast
TCB: Take care of business.
Get it done.
About
I'm a mechanical engineer working on one-way attack UAS at Empirical Systems Aerospace. My scope runs from mechanical propulsion integration to control surfaces, wing deployment mechanisms, and composite structures. I like problems that start with an idea, a sketch, or a thought, but the part still has to fly.
Before this I designed pump and piping systems at Wallace Group Engineering, and before that I was chasing adventurous outlets to pay the bills: ocean lifeguard, speargun manufacturing technician, rock climbing gym employee. Each one taught me something about working under pressure and getting things right the first time. I also learned how to communicate. Technical ownership and explanation is nothing if you can't communicate it.
I grew up in Southern California, surfing, diving, building gas-powered scooters, and working at a local golf cart repair shop, which is probably why I gravitate toward building things that have to perform in the real world and not just on a screen. Cal Poly's learn-by-doing approach suited me. I put in over 200 hours in the machine shops on projects that had nothing to do with a grade.
I care about design for manufacturability. A part that's brilliant in CAD and impossible to build isn't a good design. Spinning a part in CAD forever when it's not the right design for the application is time wasted.
Experience
Empirical Systems Aerospace
Jan 2026 to CurrentAssociate Mechanical Engineer
- Own mechanical subsystem design, start to finish, for a one-way attack UAS: propulsion, BRU/captive carry integration, control surface actuation, wing deployment mechanisms, vehicle dynamics, and composite trim. Designed to MIL-STD for compatibility with existing military hardware.
Lumberjack Program
- Led mechanical design, test, and integration of a drogue-chute recovery system, the first successful chute recovery for a belly-skid vehicle in company history, and new company IP.
- Owned the technical scope end to end: vendor sourcing under NDA, sizing analysis, procurement, and testing. Presented across 3+ design reviews to Mission Assurance, Chief Engineers, and client leadership. All were approved.
- Delivered the company's first BRU/captive-carry integration and an improved control surface integration for a new vehicle configuration, both critical to vehicle range and mission capability.
- Owned propulsion integration end to end: mounting design, load analysis, material selection, and structural sizing, translating engine loads into the airframe interface.
Classified Program
- Selected three weeks into the role as Build Manager: sole liaison between build engineers and Mechanical Design, resolving engineering blockers in real time to keep production on schedule.
- Designed the 45+ vehicle LRIP work-cell layout, assembly flow, and Kanban system that structured the program's full-rate build.
- Directly responsible for delivering the first 4 flight vehicles on time for testing, enabling the program's first flight, first mission flights, and first target hit.
Wallace Group Engineering
Jul 2024 to Jan 2026Associate Mechanical Engineer (Jul 2025–Jan 2026) / Mechanical Engineering Intern (Jul 2024–Jul 2025)
- Designed and analyzed pump and piping systems across 17 projects for wineries and wastewater treatment plants, sizing for flow rates of 50–150 GPM across varying elevation and pressure differentials.
- Authored 15 technical reports translating field data and client requirements into buildable mechanical designs.
- Led design of a 5-header wastewater overflow system routing to a leachfield for a casino client, coordinating directly with subcontractors on implementation.
- Progressed from supporting senior engineers on pump analysis to independently owning system design across the full project lifecycle.
Skills & Programs
| CAD | SolidWorks, AutoCAD |
| PDM | SolidWorks PDM |
| CNC | MasterCAM, HSMWorks |
| Coding | MATLAB, Python, G-code |
| Drafting | GD&T per ASME Y14.5, engineering drawing creation and revision control |
| Approach | Design for Manufacturability (DFM), execution-first under tight timelines, direct coordination with machinists and technicians to close the design-to-build gap |
| Office | Word, Excel, Outlook |
Education
Cal Poly SLO
B.S. Mechanical Engineering, '25
Manufacturing Concentration
Projects
Mechanical Espresso Tamp
Personal project, design through machining
A lever-actuated espresso tamper I designed and built from scratch. Pulling the handle drives a toggle linkage that converts the angled pull into a straight, repeatable press on the portafilter, no wrist torque needed. Fully modeled in SolidWorks, hand-calculated for pivot loads, then machined out of 6061 aluminum on a manual mill and bandsaw.
Design
I started with a free body diagram to size the linkage before committing to a shape in CAD. Working through the reaction forces at each pivot told me how much material I actually needed at the joints, instead of guessing and overbuilding. From there I modeled the full assembly in SolidWorks: a two-bar toggle that takes the angled force from the handle and drives the tamp straight down onto the portafilter, mounted to a wood upright.
Machining
Every metal part started as bar stock. I cut blanks on the bandsaw, then moved to the manual mill to machine the pivot bosses, the yoke, and the tamp head. The decorative engraving on the tamp face was CAM-programmed in HSMWorks as a scallop toolpath before cutting. Machining it myself meant designing parts I could actually hold in a vise and cut with the tools on hand, not just what looked good in CAD.
Final Build
The finished tamper mounts to a hardwood upright with a laser-engraved logo and holds a standard portafilter under the tamp head. Pulling the handle drives the linkage through its toggle point and presses straight down onto the grounds.
Contact
Open to hearing about roles in drone, defense, and DFM-focused engineering. Reach out directly or find me on LinkedIn.