High-altitude aircraft contrail across deep sky
Portfolio · 2026

● Rafay — Aerospace Engineering

Advanced engineering for flight, propulsion, and thermal systems.

Designing for the edge of the atmosphere — and beyond.

Case Study · 01

Compressible Flow Analysis

MATLAB · Bisection · Shock waves

Read case study

● About

Abdul Raafay Irfan, mechanical engineer

Building Flight Systems, Prototypes, and everything in between.

Mechanical engineer with hands-on experience across the full product development cycle from CAD design in SolidWorks, Fusion 360, and Onshape, to prototype fabrication and production manufacturing using CNC machining, laser cutting, and composites. I focus on closing the gap between design intent and what gets built, with a track record of catching tolerance and fitment issues early and optimizing processes to cut build turnaround by 30%. Grounded in lean manufacturing, GD&T, and DFM, with additional experience in ANSYS, COMSOL, MATLAB, and cross-functional hardware–software integration, looking to bring that process discipline to high-volume or precision aerospace manufacturing.

AutoCADFusion 360SolidWorksOnshapeRevitBlenderCATIAMATLABPythonC++ANSYS (Mechanical, Fluent)COMSOL MultiphysicsSolidWorks SimulationCNC MachiningManual Machining (lathe, drill press, band saw)Laser CuttingPower ToolsComposites ManufacturingPrototype & Production ManufacturingMechanical Drawings InterpretationGD&TDesign for Manufacturability (DFM)Tolerance & Fitment TroubleshootingManufacturing Work InstructionsAutomated Manufacturing SystemsRobotic Manufacturing SystemsLean Manufacturing

● Selected Projects

Engineering systems in motion.

From rocketry and tunnel robotics to biomechanical simulation and published convection research — across academia, industry, and government partnership.

● More Projects

Interested in a specific project? Get in touch — happy to share more detail, drawings, or process notes. Contact →

● Experience

Experience

Robotics Research Engineer

New York Institute of Technology

Jan 2025 – Present·Old Westbury, NY · Hybrid

Contribute to advanced robotics and biomechanics research in collaboration with NASA, building adaptive systems for extreme environments. Accelerated Python simulation workflows 5× via C++ parallelization in support of climate-based modeling for Martian habitat construction, enabling real-time control systems that reduced material defects by 15%. Engineered a bioinspired spider robot in MATLAB, Simulink, and Simscape to study gait adaptation and biomechanical response to autotomy. Led modifications of 3D printers to develop soft robotic limbs with programmable deformation using electromagnets and iron-filled lattice structures.

Undergraduate Researcher

Rayleigh–Bénard Convection

Jul 2023 – Present·Remote

Computational fluid dynamics research on steady coherent solutions in two-dimensional Rayleigh–Bénard convection. Modeled the governing equations in MATLAB to visualize flow patterns and temperature distributions across fluid layers, and studied the stability and transition of convection patterns by sweeping the Rayleigh number. Work culminated in a published study on asymptotic transport at infinite Prandtl number.

Biomechanics Research Assistant

New York Institute of Technology

May 2025 – Dec 2025·Old Westbury, NY · On-site

Developed and simulated advanced musculoskeletal and prosthetic systems through high-fidelity modeling. Built anatomically accurate muscle and fascicle models in HyperMesh with mesh-quality optimization for downstream simulation. Designed next-generation prosthetics in Abaqus and integrated CAD platforms, iterating on mechanical efficiency and user fit. Ran FEA in LS-PrePost and LS-DYNA to evaluate stress distribution, dynamic response, and failure modes.

Peer Advisor

New York Institute of Technology

Jul 2024 – May 2025·Old Westbury, NY · On-site

Guided first-year students through academic adjustment, time management, and campus resources. Designed and ran workshops on study strategy and academic skills, and held one-on-one advising sessions to help students build a strong foundation for their college careers.

Laboratory Research Assistant

Dexter Robotics / OvrynLab

Jun 2024 – Jan 2025·Old Westbury, NY · Hybrid

Optimized robotic system code for task performance and reliability. Conducted optical experiments using optical tables, laser emitters, and Moku Labs equipment, and performed mathematical computations and function encoding in Wolfram Mathematica to support project research.

Student Support Technician

New York Institute of Technology

Feb 2024 – Jan 2025·Old Westbury, NY · On-site

Resolved technical issues across OKTA, Zoom, Microsoft Office, Adobe, Canvas, Cengage, and NYIT portals through phone, email, and walk-in support. Used RingCentral for client communication and ServiceNow for ticket management to deliver efficient remote technical support across a wide range of platforms.

Contact

Open to internships, research collaborations, and full-time roles in aerospace and precision manufacturing.