Daniel P Koch

Resume

Education

Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering

Brigham Young University Provo, Utah 2025

B.S. Mechanical Engineering

Brigham Young University Provo, Utah 2014
  • Summa cum laude (4.00 GPA)
  • Minor in Computer Science
  • Elective Courses: Flight Dynamics and Control, Mechatronics, Design of Control Systems, Optimization Techniques, Neuromechanics of Movement

Work Experience

Staff Software Engineer

Aurora Innovation, Inc. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania April 2024 – Present

Senior Software Engineer

Aurora Innovation, Inc. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania July 2020 – April 2024
  • Developing localization systems for autonomous vehicles

Research Assistant

BYU MAGICC Lab Provo, Utah November 2012 – June 2020
  • Research guidance and control of small UAVs in environments with degraded GPS
  • Developed, implemented, and flight-tested several Kalman filter variants with estimates in the loop
  • Architected, implemented, and iterated complex, multi-component system used in several flight tests
  • Co-developed the ROSflight autopilot firmware and ROS stack

GNC Engineer (Intern)

Kitty Hawk Corporation Mountain View, California January 2017 – April 2017
  • Functioned as lead estimation engineer for early development of a manned multirotor aircraft
  • Developed and implemented full-state GPS/INS estimation software
  • Contributed to system-level software design and integration decisions
  • Supported miniature and full-scale flight testing

Summer Researcher

Air Force Research Laboratory Fort Walton Beach, Florida Summers 2014, 2015, 2016
  • Implemented multirotor estimator and controller for Pixhawk autopilot (PX4 flight stack)
  • Developed hardware and software capabilities for collaborative multirotor research test platform

Intern

Daimler Trucks North America Portland, Oregon Summer 2012
  • Developed methodology for dynamic and kinematic modeling and analysis of heavy truck hood mounting system
  • Helped integrate new software and establish expanded engineering analysis capabilities

Research Assistant

BYU Microstructure Research Lab Provo, Utah October 2010 – April 2012
  • Researched continuum mechanical models of dislocation stress fields near a free surface
  • Self-taught advanced tensor mathematics and made novel theoretical contributions as an undergraduate

Undergraduate Intern

Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos, New Mexico Summer 2011
  • Produced original work on mathematical models for effects of dislocations in solids

Skills

  • ROS
  • C/C++, Python, Java
  • MATLAB, Simulink
  • Linux
  • Pixhawk/PX4
  • OpenCV
  • Tensorflow
  • PCB Design (KiCad, CadSoft EAGLE)
  • PIC microcontroller
  • LMS Virtual.Lab Motion
  • CATIA, SolidWorks, NX, Inventor
  • Excel
  • LaTeX
  • HTML/CSS/PHP/JavaScript

Awards and Certifications

  • National Defense Engineering and Science Graduate Fellowship
  • Ira A. Fulton College PhD Fellowship
  • Department of Mechanical Engineering Research Fellowship
  • Graduate Student Technical Excellence Award
  • Tau Beta Pi Stabile Scholarship
  • Heritage Academic Scholarship
  • National Merit Scholarship
  • Kruger Scholarship
  • Eagle Scout with Silver Palm
  • Piano Syllabus Post Level X with Honors
  • PADI Advanced Open Water Diver