Hey Tesla Team,
I’m Roger, an entrepreneurial maker passionate about various projects across a broad range of disciplines.
Let me show you what I mean by that.
←
Own Entrepreneurship
(October 2023 - Present)
My girlfriend and I started a profitable handmade business named Alvaire Living - primarily selling personalized gift sets.
She handled design and marketing, while I was responsible for operations, production, finance and IT infrastructure.
Our christmas gift set (pictured above) was sold over 2000 times.
Below are examples of operational challenges and innovations for increasing the production rate of our set.
WHAT
The hand-glued box may stick to the surface due to excess glue being squeezed out, making demolding difficult.
Rework is required for every single box (sanding).
Overall time per box is too high for larger volumes (> 2 min).
HOW
I chose not to use an external box supplier, as we wanted to remain vertically integrated to control costs and quantities.
Using Autodesk Fusion 360, I designed a CAD mold and went through 14 3D-printed prototype versions. The box is now glued upside down to prevent contact with any surface.
A station was built around the molds, consolidating everything into one spot.
RESULT
The best part is no part - rework completely eliminated!
The design is now multi-functional: it holds clamping pressure, ensures consistent arrangement every time, requires no rework, and is stackable (while holding the part). This concept was actually inspired by Tesla’s stacked Giga Castings for storage (see the right side of the picture).
Halved the time per box (approximately 47 seconds)
No. 1
Custom-designed molds for the wooden box
WHAT
No organized workspace or clearly defined paths for operations and storage locations.
High cycle time (over 2 minutes).
Manual label cutting and customer shipping notifications.
HOW
Scale model created in SketchUp.
Self-built shipping shelf and standardized cardboard sizes.
Automated label printing implemented.
RESULT
Dedicated locations for every part of the product, especially for our own laser-cut ornaments.
Halved cycle time (approximately 57 seconds per set, further reduced with larger order quantities).
Defined "one-piece flow" process from left to right (inspired by practices learned at Amazon).
No. 2
Optimized shipping station
WHAT
Manual order management.
Manual inventory management, highly prone to errors.
No clear display of the current status for orders and inventory.
HOW
First: Configured an external software provider (Billbee) for order management (with customer data blurred). Faced challenges integrating Shopify and Etsy.
Improved shipping speed by displaying all relevant information on a single screen - invoice management is also automated.
RESULT
Second: Developed a custom basic execution dashboard in Python (linked to the Billbee board - leveraging my computer science knowledge from my studies and ChatGPT).
Key inventory and order metrics such as: open orders, orders with shippment deadline in 24h, current inventory, days of supply (AVG), bottleneck sub-part (count).
No. 3
Self-developed execution dashboard and IT infrastructure
Formula Student (FSAE)
(July 2021 - July 2023)
FSAE is an international design competition in which student teams compete against each other with racing cars
they have designed and built themselves.
I joined High-Voltage Motorsports e.V. in 2021 as a Suspension Team Member and was elected as the finance director
and member of the board the following year. In addition, I served as Co-Team Lead of the Suspension Team that same year.
Below are examples of a personal mechanical engineering project and accomplishments as a team leader and director.
Gas springs were the first choice, as they are compact yet capable of storing significant energy.
I decided to use push-style gas springs because there wasn’t enough room in front of the pedals, and placement there was prohibited by the rules.
I also considered a pneumatic-only system, but the cylinders would have been too heavy, and lightweight design was a key goal.
The competition rules specify a required behavior for the EBS.
E.g.: “During the brake test, the vehicle must accelerate in autonomous mode up to at least 40 km/h within 20 m. The vehicle must come to a safe stop within a maximum distance of 10 m.”
No. 1
Design of the Emergency Brake System (EBS)
The EBS is used for the autonomous disciplines of the competition. It is an autonomous brake with an built-in emergency “emergency-brake” capability.
I did the mechanical design of this system.
The fundamental idea was to allow the system to actuate the already built-in brake pedal to increase brake pressure - without interfering with the brake system and ensuring it remained removable.
Calculations performed using Mathcad determined that 600 N of force in the main brake cylinder was required to achieve the desired deceleration. As a result, 180 N gas springs were selected.
The final design incorporates two lightweight gas springs (for redundancy) and one pneumatic cylinder that acts negatively (actively pulling the springs back).
The cavity for the driver’s shoe is positioned between the two springs.
The system leverages the mechanical advantage of the brake pedal.
The design was created in CAD using Creo Parametric.
Co-developed the pneumatic scheme.
Integrated two solenoid valves: one for the emergency braking maneuver and one for the autonomous brake.
Ensured the system is "fail-safe" by opting for the negative-pneumatic-cylinder solution.
Eliminated the need for a second gas storage system.
The final assembly was 40% lighter than the EBS used in the previous season, which featured double pneumatic cylinders and gas tanks.
WHAT
I also aimed to fit the system into our already built carbon monocoque.
Ensuring no interference with the racing shoe (size 45) of our tallest driver. (This picture was taken after the development.).
HOW
RESULT
Rigorous testing of the whole system was conducted.
Lessons learned: I underestimated the pressure loss in the system, which was approximately 15% due to the length and flexibility of the hoses (Through root cause analysis, it was determined that in a minimalist and simplified configuration, the pressure loss was significantly reduced). However, this was offset by the progressive force increase of the gas springs as they contracted (our model provided a 22% progression).
The picture demonstrates a full brake or pressure loss scenario, where the pedal is pushed to its limit.
The desired deceleration was successfully achieved.
Felix (my co-team lead) and I managed a team of over 12 members. We placed a strong emphasis on recruitment and immediately assigned tasks and responsibilities to newcomers, which received very positive feedback.
We were also responsible for managing manufacturers, suppliers, and relationships with other sponsors.
We were the first sub-team in our club (apart from electronics) to implement Gantt charts for time management and Jira for sub-assembly project management. As a result, the suspension team was the first to complete all its tasks and assemblies.
Lessons learned: Managing a team should not be underestimated as a leader's responsibility. It requires careful planning - not just guiding the team, but also actively supporting its members, just as one would have appreciated as a team member themselves.
Biggest Achievement: The suspension team leaders for the following season were identified halfway through our season - a rare accomplishment, as this is typically a very stressful and time-consuming task no one wants to do.
I learned how important and fulfilling it is to assist a newly recruited member with their personal sub-assembly or project (e.g., through knowledge transfer) and how much they appreciate the support.
No. 2
Suspension Teamlead Accomplishments
As I joined the club in 2021 it was still called “High-Octane Motorsports e.V.” - although we wanted to build an all electric race car.
My plan was to change that, as big sponsors were - rightfully so - asking serious questions.
However, internal resistance within the club was immense. Many older or inactive members had joined specifically to build combustion cars and were strongly opposed to the idea.
The only way forward was through 100% transparency:
I gathered quotes from our sponsors to strengthen my case.
I implemented a system for members to submit and vote on name and logo ideas.
Although I could have legally made the change with the elected board without consulting the members, I chose to prioritize harmony within the club. Doing the right thing came at the expense of my reputation, but it was worth it.
The logo and name transition was successfully completed after a final positive vote by the members.
In the summer of 2022, I was elected to the Board of Directors, specifically for the important role of Financial Director.
My main accomplishment was successfully managing and increasing our six-figure annual budget despite the challenging economic situation, including high inflation.
As the prices for car parts rose significantly, I implemented detailed financial planning (see above), closely monitoring incoming sponsorship funds against invoices.
For example, I decided against implementing a four-wheel powertrain because it would have required purchasing two additional motors and an inverter. My combined skills in engineering and finance proved invaluable here. In my view, the added boost in acceleration did not justify the additional weight and reduced cornering speed - and our simulation confirmed this assessment.
I managed all of our financial sponsors and successfully negotiated a 10% increase in sponsorship contributions, with every sponsor agreeing to the new terms.
By maintaining close contact with both members and sponsors - through initiatives like get-togethers - I ensured that our sponsors were more engaged and involved during my tenure.
Out of 70 club members, I was elected to moderate the rollout of our new car in front of sponsors, friends, and family (an audience of over 150 people) - see the photo above.
No. 3
Finance Director Accomplishments
Amazon - Operations Internship
(February 2022 - May 2022)
All images refer to my work, but are exemplary publicly accessible images due to an NDA.
WHAT
Design of an outbound process:
Goal: Improvement of associate ergonomics (e.g. lower load during lifting)
in the areas Pack and Ship
for units with >15 kg of weight (as individual employees are not permitted to lift more than this weight; requiring two employees for heavier items was a key challenge to address)
with a targeted throughput of >500 units per hour.
Design and implementation of a test run setup to validate the proposed concept.
HOW
I began by planning the project, which included consulting all relevant stakeholders, defining key goal variables, and acquiring the necessary data through SQL queries.
Given the importance of implementation speed, we opted for market solutions from suppliers, such as vacuum lifters, to address the weight limitations.
The critical aspect of the project was designing the flow paths for products and cardboard packaging—ensuring efficient order packing and sorting for shipment.
My time on the project was limited to three months, with a six-figure budget allocated for the process. The implementation of the process I designed was successfully completed after my departure.
RESULT
Using AutoCAD 2D, I designed the layout for the process.
Typically, Pack and Ship are separate areas in logistics centers. However, I combined them to maximize the coverage area of the vacuum lifter (see example above), which also eliminated the need for transportation between these steps.
Lessons Learned: In a large logistics center, emergency pathways need to be significantly wider than usual to comply with safety regulations.
During an initial small-scale simulation, the proposed throughput performance appeared feasible.
BMW - Quality Engineering Internship
(May 2021 - October 2021)
All images refer to my work, but are exemplary publicly accessible images due to an NDA.
Led the development (front-end and back-end) and support of multiple apps using Microsoft PowerApps to significantly enhance process efficiency and digitalization.
These processes included tasks such as product compliance and high-voltage component decommissioning in vehicles.
The main challenge was understanding customer requirements and ensuring acceptance among the workforce. To address this, I actively engaged in the processes, observed workers in action, and provided hands-on explanations of the finished apps as they used them.
While working in the field of innovation and quality, I also created several data reports using Power BI dashboards. For example, I developed a dashboard to monitor quality in general assembly at the Regensburg plant (not in real-time).
Since I was often at the assembly line, I came up with the following idea:
I proposed the integration of automated data analysis for quality data to provide real-time transparency to workers on the assembly line via screens (a system similar to what Tesla employs, as seen in drone footage from inside their factories).This approach significantly reduces the feedback loop and improves overall quality.
The previous process relied on delayed manual analysis and lacked any real-time feedback screens, which offered little support to workers on the line.
Although I collaborated with an industrial partner for development, the project was ultimately not pursued further due to internal reasons.
Other
(November 2023 - January 2024)
The following was a small university group project about a mechanical design for a pedestrian-controlled forklift.
WHAT
Our task was to calculate and design a pedestrian-controlled forklift capable of carrying 1,000 kg.
In our team of three, we divided the responsibilities, and I was in charge of the CAD design.
HOW
As the primary focus was cost (in addition to feasibility), we chose inexpensive T- and C-steel profiles, which were welded together.
I began the design with a space model and then added the base structure. After that I added to columns and given sub-assemblies such as the batteries.
RESULT
Based on our calculations, we selected UPE140 and UPE180 profiles made of 1.4404 stainless steel, known for its excellent weldability.
This project provided valuable experience in teamwork and task distribution.
We successfully passed the exam.