Portrait of Arjun Kumar Ravichandran

Located
in Chicago


Mechanical engineer
& project manager

Arjun Kumar Ravichandran, mechanical engineer and project manager

I like taking something complicated…

…and making it clearer and easier to work with.

Design.

Engineering layouts and process piping, modeled in SolidWorks and drawn up as P&IDs in AutoCAD.

Analyze.

Finite element analysis to test a design before anything gets built.

Deliver.

From the first scope conversation to manufacturing drawings, with customers and suppliers on the same page.

I design industrial equipment, then make sure it gets built. Engineering layouts, FEA and process piping, from first scope to finished drawings.

I grew up in India and moved to the United States at seventeen to study. Since 2019 I've been at GAW Paper Coating Systems in Chicago: first as a design engineer, and since 2023 as a project manager. Outside work, I teach chess and make coloring books.

Years at GAW
0+
Changeover time cut at Bosch
0%
Degrees · BS ME & MS PM
0

Work experience

  • I lead industrial coating system projects from scope to delivery, running several at once across Process/Mechanical and Instrument & Controls disciplines.

    • Assess operational requirements at kickoff to define scope options
    • Coordinate customers, suppliers and functional owners to resolve issues on time
    • Run multiple projects at once across disciplines

    Chicago, IL · Oct 2023 — Present

    Coating colour working station with process piping and platforms
    Coating colour working station · Image: GAW technologies

  • I grew from designing paper coating systems to leading the projects that deliver them. My focus is engineering layouts, analysis, and process piping design: selecting components, sizing equipment, and making sure the whole system works the way it should.

    • Create engineering layouts and piping systems in SolidWorks, designed to OSHA requirements
    • Run finite element analysis (FEA) to analyze and validate designs
    • Develop and maintain P&IDs in AutoCAD and produce manufacturing-grade drawings
    • Write reports and operation & maintenance instructions

    Chicago, IL · Mar 2019 — Present

    3D model of a complete coating colour plant with silos, tanks, platforms and piping
    3D plant layout
    Dispersers and process piping in a coating colour kitchen
    Process piping
    Coating colour kitchen tanks with a walkway and overhead piping
    Coating kitchen

    Images: GAW technologies GmbH

  • On the plant floor in Charleston, I focused on safety, uptime and productivity.

    −50%changeover time after I rebuilt the final pack-out conveyor system

    • Redesigned the Proceco washer pallet and fixtures to improve material-handling safety and ergonomics
    • Built a predictive & preventive maintenance program to catch failing motors and gearboxes early
    • Cut downtime with preventive checks on high-pressure hoses and tooling changes at the teardown station
    • Automated indirect-material cost tracking with Excel macros

    Charleston, SC · May 2017 — May 2018

    Port fuel injectors · Images © Robert Bosch GmbH

  • 3D modeling and tool design, cost tracking, and planning work orders for maintenance mechanics.

    Charleston, SC · Jan 2016 — Aug 2016

    Cutaway illustration of an engine with four port fuel injectors highlighted
    Port fuel injection · Image © Robert Bosch GmbH

Projects (06)

Scroll or drag · tap a card

01/ 06Coating systems, scope to drawings

Skills

Project management
Scope, stakeholders, multi-project delivery
Process piping design
Piping systems and P&IDs in AutoCAD
FEA
Finite element analysis to analyze and validate designs
Engineering layouts
Equipment and piping layouts in SolidWorks & AutoCAD
Mechanical design
Component selection and sizing, sheet metal, drawings
Safety & compliance
OSHA requirements, ergonomic fixtures
Analysis & code
CFD, MATLAB, C++, Java simulation, Excel/VBA

Education

MS, Project Management
Harrisburg University · 2020 — 2022 · GPA 4.0
BS, Mechanical Engineering
Penn State · 2013 — 2017 · GPA 3.53
Certified SolidWorks Associate
CSWA · May 2017
Community
Penn State THON volunteer since 2013

Chess tutoring

From first move to checkmate

Lessons for beginners and improving players, built around how you actually think during a game, not memorizing lines.

  1. 01

    Assess

    We play and review a game together so I can see how you think, not just which moves you make.

  2. 02

    Build

    Opening principles, tactical patterns, and the endgames every player should know.

  3. 03

    Apply

    We go through your own games, so lessons stick where it matters: over the board.

  4. 04

    Your move

    Email me to book a first lesson. Ask about lessons →

Try one

Mate in one

White to move. Find the move that ends the game: tap a white piece, then the square to move it to.

Teaching goes back to college: at Penn State I graded Differential Equations coursework for the math department and mentored students in the LEAP program.

Tap a white piece, then tap the square to move it to.

Blooms & Bliss coloring book standing on a wooden table

Coloring book · on Amazon

Blooms & Bliss

44 botanical illustrations, each with the flower's story, its symbolism and a little of its history, so you learn something while you color. Published under my pen name, A.R. June.

Illustrations
44 botanical
For
Adults
ISBN-13
9798258647245
Buy on Amazon Tell me about new books

Let's work
together

Get in touch
arjunar05@gmail.com LinkedIn ↗ Book a chess lesson
Based in

Chicago, IL

Local time

Chicago

Socials

LinkedIn Amazon

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Work images: GAW technologies GmbH and © Robert Bosch GmbH.

Project