Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering · Wuppertal, DE

Ilker Gencay

Fifteen years turning designs into parts that ship on schedule — across aerospace, medical devices, and defence.

DFM & design reviews Lean / Kaizen Composites & CNC PMI-trained PM

What I help with

Engineering support, scoped to the problem

Bring me in for a bounded piece of work — a design that won't manufacture, a production line that's losing yield, a prototype that needs to exist next month — or for ongoing engineering capacity on a programme.

DFM

Design for Manufacturing reviews

Assess drawings and 3D models against real process capability, flag the features that will bite in production, and propose changes that hold form, fit and function.

DEV

Product & process development

Take a concept through detailed design, verification testing, FMEA and documentation to a released, buildable product — including design changes on parts already in production.

CI

Continuous improvement & lean

Run root-cause investigations on production failures, lead Kaizen events, and drive scrap and cycle-time reduction from first idea to implemented solution.

TOOL

Tooling, fixtures & prototyping

Design and procure layup, trim and assembly fixtures; prepare CAM programmes; organise prototype manufacture for complex composite and machined parts.

PM

Technical project management

Coordinate cross-functional teams and internal/external suppliers, manage procurement and planning, and keep stakeholders aligned through to delivery.

Track record

Where the work has landed

A selection of programmes and outcomes across high-regulation industries.

Kept ventilator supply moving during a global shortage

ResMed · Respiratory Care · 2022–2024

Led the mechanical engineering team verifying design changes that enabled continued ventilator supply, managed on-hold production issues with design changes and FMEAs, and installed supplier screening equipment that cut scrap at final assembly.

Delivered layup and trim fixtures for Boeing

Quickstep · Aerospace composites · 2018–2022

Designed, procured and manufactured composite tooling end to end, led a team of five engineers, and ran lean implementation and Kaizen activities across the manufacturing floor.

Prototyped highly complex aeronautical parts

Turkish Aerospace Industries · Defence · 2007–2013

Organised prototype manufacture of a complex part for Lockheed Martin, introduced new techniques and tooling for difficult geometries, and ran six years of large-scale CNC work.

Brought new processes and materials into a defence line

FNSS Savunma Sistemleri · Defence · 2013–2016

Ran DFM design reviews with R&D, evaluated waterjet and ballistic materials, and led the selection of a new CNC machine for the production line.

Background

Credentials & tools

Education

  • MBA — Business & Project Management · APIC, Australia · PMI Dean's Award
  • BEng — Mechanical Engineering · Dokuz Eylül University, Türkiye

CAD / PLM

  • Siemens NX
  • CATIA
  • PTC Creo
  • Windchill

Systems

  • ERP — Oracle, IFS
  • CAM programming
  • FMEA & root-cause analysis

Industries

  • Aerospace composites
  • Medical devices
  • Defence manufacturing
  • Construction products

Direct contact

Reach me directly

Based in Wuppertal, North Rhine-Westphalia. Available for on-site work across the region and for remote engineering support. Professional references available on request.

Send an inquiry

Tell me what you're building

Fill this in and it's logged straight to me — no email client required. I reply personally, usually within a couple of working days.