Kearney Lackas

Director of Components Technology

Longmont, Colorado, United States

About

I am a proven technical leader and an effective individual contributor. I have notable expertise in electromechanical system design and development including gimbals, reaction wheels, control moment gyroscopes, solar array drives, and power transfer devices such as twist capsules and slip rings. I've led diverse teams and have supported all varieties of mission classes from bespoke, human-rated mechanisms to high-volume "New Space" commodity space products and all phases of those missions from napkin sketch to continuous production to on-orbit troubleshooting. With 11 years of professional experience in total, I've had the pleasure of working for several amazing organizations including JPL, Honeybee Robotics, Blue Canyon Technologies, Teledyne, and Tendeg. I hold a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Nebraska where my graduate researched focused on surgical robotics and associated technologies.

Experience

  • Director of Components Technology at Blue Canyon Technologies
    Sep 2024 - Present · 1 yr 10 mos

    Lead the teams behind the Best Damn Components in the Satellite Industry.

  • System Engineer at Tendeg, LLC
    Aug 2023 - Oct 2024 · 1 yr 3 mos

    Subject Matter Expert for Actuators and other Electro-mechanical Subsystems within Two-Axis Gimbals * Performance Characterization and Optimization * Fault Detection, Isolation and Recovery * Controls Architecture Development * Various IRAD Efforts and Risk Reduction Initiatives

  • Blue Canyon Technologies (4 yrs 10 mos)
    • Principal Mechatronics Engineer
      Jan 2022 - Aug 2023 · 1 yr 8 mos

      - Technical Lead for Mechanisms, directly and indirectly supporting Reaction Wheels, CMGs, SADAs, Payload Spin Mechanisms, Release Mechanisms, and other Electro-Mechanical Products. - Mechatronics Group Manager

    • Sr. Mechatronics Systems Engineer
      Mar 2021 - Mar 2022 · 1 yr 1 mo

      - Mechatronics Group Manager - Product Owner of SADAs - Technical Lead for Reaction Wheels - Technical Lead for Dual Axis Gimbal - Mechatronics/Systems for CMGs and Other Mechanisms

    • Mechatronics Systems Engineer
      Jan 2020 - Mar 2021 · 1 yr 3 mos

  • Honeybee Robotics (Longmont, CO)
    • Systems Engineer
      Mar 2017 - Nov 2018 · 1 yr 9 mos

      Current and Past Projects * Solar Array Drive Assemblies (SADAs) * Control Moment Gyroscopes (CMGs) * Optical Encoders * Twist Capsules

    • Mechanical Engineer
      Jan 2016 - Mar 2017 · 1 yr 3 mos

      Current and Past Projects * Side Hatch Gearbox for NASA's Orion Spacecraft * High Temperature Joint Actuator SBIR

  • Mechanical Engineer at Teledyne CETAC Technologies
    May 2014 - Dec 2015 · 1 yr 8 mos