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Daniel Johnston Aerospace engineering — guidance, navigation and control

Résumé

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Aerospace engineeringHonours, final yearRMIT · Graduating 2026

Final-year aerospace engineering (Honours) student at RMIT, graduating in semester 2, 2026, and heading for guidance, navigation and control. I design control systems and then measure them: a genetic algorithm that tunes its own settings and reports what they cost, and a fixed-wing UAV generated from a parametric digital twin.

Citizenship
Australian citizen
Clearance
Eligible for NV1
Available from
Anytime
Location
Melbourne / Regional West VIC
Relocation
Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia, ACT
Licence
Manual car licence

Projects

2025–2026

MasterGA

Responsible for the GA on an RMIT team capstone; MasterGA is the rebuild

A genetic algorithm that tunes its own settings, grown out of a flight-control capstone.

26 ×
tighter spread across seeds than the best hand-written preset, at an equal 5 000-evaluation budget
28/50
seeds escaped the decoys to the true minimum, against 10/50 for the standard preset

MATLAB, Simulink, Parallel Computing Toolbox

2026

VTX-1 Pathfinder

Sole designer and builder

A fixed-wing surveillance UAV, sized from first principles and built from a parametric twin.

1368 g
all-up weight, under a hard 1500 g cap
34.7 min
computed endurance at cruise, on measured masses and a modelled drag polar
34 bodies
regenerated from one parameter file, with zero clashes

MATLAB, Python, Fusion 360, SolidWorks, ArduPlane

Education

2022–2026

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours), Aerospace Engineering

RMIT University

Honours thesis on genetic algorithm optimisation of flight control systems. Coursework in autonomous systems, flight dynamics and control, aerodynamics and advanced engineering mathematics. Expected completion semester 2, 2026.

2021

Victorian Certificate of Education

Girton Grammar School, Bendigo

Subject dux in systems engineering, physics and environmental science.

Experience

2023–

Sole trader — CAD, 3D printing and laser cutting

Self-employed

End-to-end product work: client brief, CAD in SolidWorks and Fusion 360, manufacture, quality check, delivery. Operating a 70 W CO2 laser cutter for production runs, managing tolerances and material selection independently.

2019–

Labourer

Regional Greenworks Contracting

Continuous employment since 2019, maintained through full-time study. Heavy machinery operation, concrete work, retaining wall construction.

2019–2021

Mechanical and electrical team member

Girton Racing Team and Shell Eco-Marathon Asia

Trike racing vehicle build and maintenance; electrical and mechanical contribution to an efficiency competition entry.

Skills

Simulation and control
MATLAB and Simulink, guidance algorithms, Kalman estimation, genetic algorithm optimisation, 6-DoF trajectory simulation
Software
Rust, Python, TypeScript, React, Git, Linux
CAD and design
SolidWorks, Fusion 360, Blender, parametric model generation
Manufacture
CO2 laser cutting, FDM 3D printing, soldering, assembly to tolerance
Flight hardware
Fixed-wing and multirotor build and flight, ArduPlane and Betaflight configuration, PID tuning, RF link budgeting
Visual, nine years
Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Premiere Pro

Awards