About#

Hi, I’m Nathan Vaughn. I’m currently a Simulation Engineer at Fisher Controls.

I have a degree in aerospace engineering with a minor in non-destructive evaluation from Iowa State University. I’ve worked on all kinds of projects, both professionally and on my own, from building my own high-performance computing cluster to working on 3D vision technology for air-to-air refueling. Outside of work, I volunteer with FIRST robotics and the American Solar Challenge. I’m a big fan of aviation, building computers, and Python programming.

One Page Resume

Work Experience#

Emerson ⟶

Simulation Engineer :: Aug 2025 - Present :: https://www.emerson.com/

#Ansys

At Fisher Controls in Marshalltown, Iowa, I use finite element analysis (FEA) to evaluate Fisher valve and instrument products.

Emerson ⟶

Product Engineer :: Aug 2022 - Aug 2025 :: https://www.emerson.com/

#SOLIDWORKS #documentation #PowerApps

As a Product Engineer in Fisher Controls’ Engineered Specials group, I supported sliding-stem product lines and special orders, advising sales and manufacturing teams worldwide on product and design questions.

Bell Flight ⟶

Software Engineer :: Jan 2021 - Aug 2022 :: https://www.bellflight.com/

#Azure #Azure DevOps #PX4 #Python #Docker #SQL

I worked as a Python developer within Bell’s Innovation group, primarily focusing on fleet simulation and DevOps.

Rearchitected a SQL server data analysis workflow with Databricks and Azure Batch to save over $30k annually
Automated testing, static code analysis, and deployments with Azure Pipelines
Developed a process for repeatable mass deployments of mission software onto air-launched drones
Participated in test events and provided on-site customer support for mission-critical software
Simplified Python code distribution and reuse using JFrog Artifactory
Volunteered with the Bell Advanced Vertical Robotics competition for high-school students as the lead software engineer writing control software, documentation, and answering student questions

TRU Simulation ⟶

Software Engineering Intern :: Jun 2020 - Aug 2020 :: https://www.trusimulation.com/

#test procedures

Researched alternative software to generate large certification documents and developed a proof-of-concept in LaTeX for greater engineering efficiency
Performed systems tests of a new Citation Latitude simulator before and during customer acceptance to ensure the simulator correctly replicated the behavior of the real aircraft

Collins Aerospace ⟶

Systems/Software Engineering Co-op :: May 2019 - Jan 2020 :: https://www.rtx.com/collinsaerospace/

#Ada #DO-178B #test procedures

Collaborated on a diverse Agile scrum team as part of the software design process for Military Avionics Fusion Flight Management Systems
Developed and maintained tests for Ada avionics software to ensure DO-178B certification conformity
Worked with requirements and traceability from high-level system functionality down to software code
Prototyped improvements to the KC-46 Remote Vision System, including developing a working air-to-air refueling scale model with a 5-axis robot
Co-invented a laser projection system to calibrate stereoscopic cameras (US11360375B1)

Michaels Energy ⟶

Residential Direct Load Control Intern :: May 2018 - July 2018 :: https://michaelsenergy.com/

Inspected power supply control units at customer sites across Southeast Iowa
Provided remote support and traveled independently to customer sites representing the power company
Developed new software independently to generate GPS coordinates from a list of customer addresses to reduce time spent driving

L2 Aviation ⟶

Engineering Intern :: May 2017 - July 2017 :: https://www.l2aviation.com/

#Autodesk Inventor #Autodesk Vault #drafting

Converted existing 767 Large Display System flight deck retrofit into a brand-new supplemental type certificate for 757 aircraft
Updated old drawings to improve conciseness, maintainability, and readability
Engineered new parts and installations and drafted technical drawings

→ See more work experiences

Skills#

Areas

3D CAD and drafting with Autodesk Inventor with Vault, Autodesk Fusion 360, and SOLIDWORKS
Manufacturing experience with composites layups and FDM 3D printing
High-performance computing with CentOS, SLURM, MATLAB, and Siemens STAR-CCM+
Professional and personal programming with Python, MATLAB, SQL and more
DevOps with Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, Docker, Git

Certifications

FAA Private Pilot Airplane Single Engine Land
- Certificate 4870106
FAA Remote Pilot Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems
- Certificate 5196932
SOLIDWORKS Mechanical Design Professional
- License C-4E3UMXYK2A
SOLIDWORKS Mechanical Design Associate
- License C-P29LMTJLE2
Ham Radio Technician Class License
- Callsign KN4JJJ

Patents

Stereoscopic camera alignment via laser projection
- US11360375B1

Random Public Appearances

I was interviewed for the Kerbal Space Program 10-year documentary.
I was filmed for part of the Microsoft Ignite 2021 Keynote.

Projects#

VS Code Task Runner ⟶

May 2023 :: https://github.com/NathanVaughn/vscode-task-runner

#Python

This is a command-line tool to execute VS Code tasks defined in the .vscode/tasks.json file. This allows you to write tasks once, and be able to run them in your editor, and in CI/CD. Basically, use .vscode/tasks.json as a Makefile.

MSFS Mod Manager ⟶

Fall 2020 :: https://github.com/NathanVaughn/msfs-mod-manager

#Python #Qt

MSFS Mod Manager is an external mod manager for Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Senior Design ⟶

Spring 2020 - Fall 2020

#SOLIDWORKS

For my senior design, our team designed, built, and flew an R/C aircraft to deliver a payload to a target a couple of miles away and return to base.

Linkspring ⟶

Summer 2020 - March 2023

#AWS #Lambda #DynamoDB #S3 #CloudFront #Python #Flask

I developed a serverless web app where users could bring together links to their social profiles and other sites on a single page.

My Blog ⟶

Fall 2019 - Present :: https://blog.nathanv.me

On my blog, I make posts about various projects or technical challenges I have been working on. All content is written in Markdown. There is no ad revenue from it and is just something that I enjoy writing.