Thomas Balk

Thomas Balk has worked in various engineering roles since 2014. In 2014, they worked as a Sailing Instructor for the Lake Forest Recreation Department. In 2015, they worked as a Product Development Intern for Belden Inc. Thomas returned to Belden Inc. in 2016 as a ProSoft Product Development Intern, where they delivered the final mechanical design for a new Industrial Protocol Gateway (PLX82) and lead the integration of ProSoft's new Omnify Product Lifecycle (PLC) Management System. In 2017, Thomas worked as a Vehicle Systems Analysis Intern for Pratt & Whitney, where they analyzed airplane drag and thrust data models creating a predictive model for (NEO) Airbus A320's flight capabilities in the event of an engine failure, and completed high temperature Pratt & Whitney Jet engine analysis using global temperature analytics. In 2018, they worked as a Mechanical Engineer for Divergent 3D. From 2019 to 2022, they worked as a Thermal Hardware Engineer II, Manufacturing Engineer II, and Manufacturing Development Engineer for SpaceX. Currently, Thomas is a Propulsion Engineer for Hermeus.

Thomas Balk obtained a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University in 2018, following four years of study. Thomas then went on to obtain a Master of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University in 2018. Additionally, they hold a Private Pilots License (ASEL) from the Federal Aviation Administration.