Hector Garza

Professional Experience

TAT Technologies — Process EngineerGreensboro, NC · 2024 – Present

Manage 7 special-process lines — chrome plating; chromic / Type II anodize and anodize strip; nickel plate / strip / passivation; chromate conversion coating / etch; cadmium plate / strip; temper etch / descale; and solvent / alkaline clean.
Reduced process failure rate from 67% to 3% within 3 months and raised process capability (Cpk) from 0.12 to above 1.33 through workflow redesign, standardization, and SPC-driven control, driving reworks to near zero.
Raised NDT fluorescent-penetrant-inspection (FPI) first-pass yield from 32% to 92% and cut a machine-grinding operation from 16 hours to 2 hours.
Lead 5–12 NCA / RCCA (8D / 5-Why) investigations per month to closure and corrective-action implementation, working cross-functionally with Quality, Maintenance, and Production.
Built SPC dashboards with automated control-limit calculation and daily / weekly / monthly KPI tracking on tank chemistry, deposition thickness, and etch rate; unified production and quality data from machines, spreadsheets, and quality records.

Machine Specialties Inc. — Process EngineerWhitsett, NC · 2019 – 2024

Owned 4 special-process lines end-to-end — cadmium plate / strip, aerospace paint / strip, passivation, and anodize (Type I/IB, II, III) with chromate conversion coating (Type I / II) — plus composite bonding and pyrometry.
Raised line yield from 62% to 88% through workflow and process-control improvements.
Led new product / process introduction (NPI) — qualified and certified 3 new processes from scoping through production launch — titanium anodize, cadmium plate, and dry-film lubricant (fluorinated polymer) — to specification and NADCAP, using PFMEA and DOE to dial in the processes and ensure manufacturability.
Led and passed 3 NADCAP and 2 AS9100 audits; maintained certification compliance across customer specs.
Performed prepreg layup and oven cure for bonded composite assemblies; ran pyrometry on cure / thermal equipment.
Designed process tooling, fixtures, jigs, racking, and masking; applied GD&T and metrology to verify conformance, with DFM / DFA producibility input on new-process introductions.

Senior SSP Aerospace — Quality Assurance SpecialistBurbank, CA · 2018 – 2019

Analyzed and corrected methods in chemical processing; supported and passed NADCAP welding, chemical-processing, and heat-treat audits and AS9100 / customer-spec compliance.
Performed hand layup and oven cure of composite skins / panels and detail bonds for harnesses, under NADCAP AC7118 (composites).
Audited composite material control, pyrometry, and material storage (out-time / cold storage) for AC7118 and customer-spec compliance.
Welded and audited TIG, MIG, and seam welding to NADCAP AC7110 (incl. /4, /5, /12) and customer specs.
Conducted internal audits; supported EHS and Manufacturing Engineering.

Moog Inc. — Materials & Process ChemistTorrance, CA · 2012 – 2018

Directed plating, painting, shot peening, blasting, and heat-treat processes for aerospace controls; trained 25–35 technicians and senior operators.
Reviewed and approved materials and process call-outs on engineering drawings; selected and qualified 18 process vendors (test labs, alloy and service providers, technical support) per AS9100.
Started up and qualified robotic shot peening, brush plating, and zinc-nickel plating to NADCAP and customer approval; programmed and troubleshot Fanuc robots, pulsing rectifiers, and PLC systems.
Maintained NADCAP and AS9100 compliance; ran pyrometry on thermal-processing equipment, wet-process tank chemistry, XRF, microscopy, leak detection, and mechanical testing.

Danaher — Materials R&D · Lab Technician to Research AssociateOrange, CA · 2000 – 2012

Formulated thermoset and UV-curing (photoset) polymer composites and tuned them for target mechanical properties; carried formulations from lab through pilot to production — the materials- and process-development work behind new product introductions.
Technical prototyping lead — designed and built custom equipment for compounding composite formulations (Allen-Bradley PLC control) and the fixtures and instrumentation for mechanical testing of the finished composites, defining success metrics and expected behavior before each build.
Ran data-driven DOE studies characterizing end-product composites to ASTM and ISO methods — viscosity / dispersion, fatigue, environmental / chemical degradation, and wear — with microcontroller-based data-acquisition rigs (load cells, pressure and flow transducers) for synchronized multi-channel capture.
Built Python and Excel analysis tools that let engineers and interns run experiments and report results independently; presented validation-backed recommendations to leadership to gate which concepts advanced, and kept procedures and design data in sync with USC researchers and across multiple Southern California sites.

McCurdy Circuits & Chromalloy — Process Engineering & Metallurgical Lab QACalifornia · 1996 – 2000

PCB process engineering (plating-bath chemistry, copper-plate / etch / lamination, first-article testing) and metallurgical-lab QA (ICP-OES, AA, GC, FT-IR, microsectioning / cross-sections); operated PVD and plasma (thermal-spray) coating chemical processes on aerospace components.