Kelly Irons

Lead Engineer - Thermal Systems Design

Greater Boston

About

I do heat transfer analysis for the next generation of commercial jet engines at GE Aerospace. I am a graduate of GE Aerospace’s rotational Edison Engineering Development Program (EEDP) and am currently pursuing my master's degree part-time. I also have prior experience and continued interest in amateur rocketry, chemical reduction, and turbulence visualization.

Experience

  • GE Aerospace (4 yrs 1 mo)
    • Lead Engineer - Thermal Systems Design
      Sep 2025 - Present · 11 mos

    • Engineer - Thermal Systems Design
      Jul 2024 - Sep 2025 · 1 yr 3 mos

    • EEDP
      Jul 2022 - Jan 2025 · 2 yrs 7 mos

      1st Rotation: Engine Dynamics 2nd Rotation: TFTJ Performance 3rd Rotation: Thermal Systems Design

  • President, Co-Founder at Women of Aeronautics and Astronautics (WoAA) at Cornell
    Sep 2020 - May 2022 · 1 yr 9 mos

    - Co-founded chapter of WoAA at Cornell University with the aim of creating a welcoming community to support women in aerospace - Lead weekly general body meetings with 15+ regular members to build community and bring awareness to issues faced by women in aerospace - Developed resources and workshops to assist members in developing crucial technical skills

  • Undergraduate Research Assistant, Pepiot Research Group at Cornell University
    May 2020 - May 2022 · 2 yrs 1 mo

    - Developed framework in Python to expand the capabilities of ARCANE, a chemical reduction tool developed by Pepiot Research Group and CERFACS, to rocket propellant chemistry - Used MATLAB to efficiently solve systems of hundreds of differential equations and simulate rocket propellant models from recent literature - Wrote sophisticated Python text parser to integrate large chemical mechanism files into ARCANE workflow - Awarded funding for research proposal through Cornell’s Engineering Learning Initiatives grant program

  • Operability & Transient Analysis Intern at GE Aviation
    Jun 2021 - Aug 2021 · 3 mos

  • Propulsion Subteam Member, Safety Lead at Cornell Rocketry Team
    Oct 2018 - Jun 2021 · 2 yrs 9 mos

    - Designed nozzle and temperature-resistant insert system for new APCP motor for Spring 2020 competition - Create MATLAB programs to model, analyze, and optimize nozzle design choices - Utilize SolidWorks and machining skills to model and build various rocket components - Perform ANSYS simulations on key motor components to determine structural effects of expected temperatures - Work closely with team members to integrate motor subsystems and enable successful overall design - Developed high proficiency in manufacturing potassium nitrate propellant grains, culminating in successful static fire test of class N motor - Coordinated with Project Team Director and faculty to acquire approved lab space for hazardous propellant manufacture - Manufactured ammonium perchlorate composite propellant to achieve a total of six successful firing events