Meet

Carlos
Automotive Engineer

Mexico +9Y

www.iknalsemikan.com

About:
He has been passionate about cars
ever since his dad took him in the
early ’90s to a modified Mustangs
race at the local race track in Mexico
City. Since then, Carlos has been a
race cars fan and knew he wanted to
work on automobiles. Currently, he is
working at Ford Motors.

Looking for more

candidates?
Iknal Semikan is an engineering
talent agency. We prepare candidates
from all over the world through our
migration process program so they
can come and work for your company
in Sweden! Contact us for references
about Carlos and other candidates.

info@iknalsemikan.com
 CV
Carlos Fernández
Automotive Engineer

Presentation
Carlos was born and raised in Mexico City. He has been passionate about cars ever since his dad took him
in the early 90’s to a modified Mustangs race at the local racetrack in Mexico City. Since then, Carlos has
been a race cars fan and knew he wanted to work on automobiles. While in high school, he started working
on a car’s shop and then took some technical courses on how to fix cars before starting his bachelors on
mechanical engineering, as it was very important for him to understand how cars worked before starting
to design them. During his bachelors, Carlos got involved in the Mini Baja SAE team and he contributed
on the design and manufacturing of 3 off road racing cars, leading one of these. These cars raced in several
student competitions from SAE in Mexico and in the US. Also, during his bachelors, he took an intensive
summer course in Modena and in Stuttgart where he improved his knowledge on automotive systems
and internal combustion engines. After finishing his bachelors, Carlos started working at Ford where he
achieved his goal of being part of the design and development of a car, and the first vehicle program he
got to work for was the 2015 Ford Mustang, the car that first got him involved with cars. After almost 3
years at Ford, Carlos studied an MSc in Motorsports Engineering in England, where he was also able to
collaborate as an engineer assistant with a British Formula 4 team, setting up the tires and analysing data
to improve the vehicle’s speed and lap time. A great plus of working in this team and living in England for
1 year is that his English improved considerably, as he was mostly familiar with the American English.
Being part of a racing formula team has been one of his greatest goals in his life.

Carlos is very determined in achieving his goals, and one of the best feelings he has had is seeing a car he
had worked on rolling out on the streets. He is also very structured in his work and once he starts
something he does not stop until the project or goal is accomplished. Even though most of the work he
currently does is in front of a computer, whenever he gets the chance, he gets behind the steering wheel
of a test car or under it to fix something he is currently working on, so he can better understand what the
issue is and be able to explain it better.

As a passionate engineer, he currently seeks to work on a state-of-the-art vehicle project where the final
product improves people’s lives in every possible way and also has a positive impact with the
environment.

Carlos likes to use some of his downtime on working in personal restoration projects and improving his
knowledge while working on these. He is currently working on restoring a 1978 Jawa 350cc (sold in Mexico
as a Carabela) and he hopes to finish it before moving to Sweden.

Competence Areas
Operating systems: Windows / Microsoft Office
Design tools: Matlab, C++ (Basic), Star CCM, NX Solid Edge, Pro Engineering
Vehicle test tools: AVL Concerto, Vision ATI, Adams Car, Race Studio.
Management tools: Jira (Intermediate)
Certifications: Tier II Driver, Six Sigma Green Belt
Language Skills: Spanish (Native), English (95 %), German (10 % - A1)

Carlos Fernández
Page 1 of 5
Work Experience
2019 – Now Ford Motor Company – Mexico City
Sensor Quality Engineer
Carlos currently works on the quality side of Powertrain Controls, where his
main responsibility is to determine what sensors are failing, where and how
much is costing Ford in order to fix these issues, implementing corrective
actions to reduce the overall powertrain warranty spend from North America,
Europe and China. All the team he works with is located in Dearborn, MI.
▪ Quantitative analysis of engine related sensors that failed in production
vehicles during low and high time in service to reduce overall powertrain
controls warranty spend. Analysis is being done using AWS and GSAR data
base.
▪ Failure mode analysis implementation to determine root causes and relate
it to an overall warranty spend.
▪ Improved warranty return system to make sure faulted sensors are being
shipped since the first occurrence after the OK To Buy date.
▪ In vehicle tests of faulted sensors that were sent to the suppliers for
analysis and resulted with no apparent trouble. Sensors analysed using
internal ford MyCanic CAN tools and VISION ATI.
▪ Sensors manufacturing site visits for assembly improvements following
issues found at vehicles already in production.

2015 – 2019 Ford Motor Company – Mexico City

Engine Calibration Engineer
Engine software calibration to improve the vehicle’s performance and fuel
economy, taking in count emissions regulations from several markets. Most of
the job was done in-vehicle and at several facilities across the US and Mexico
(Arizona, Michigan, Acapulco).
▪ 1.6L PSI engine torque 5-7 % increase from base calibration by modifying
spark, air and VCT controls to improve vehicle performance with high
octane fuels for a Fiesta B299 Motorsport project. Car won its first race
with this calibration changes. Calibration update done by using a vehicle
dynamometer and VISION ATI tools.
▪ 30 % reduction of in-vehicle vibration form the 2020 Ford EcoSport 2.0L
GDI, compared to the previous base calibration by improving the Idle
Speed Control, avoiding a more expensive engine mounts re-design.
▪ Calibration re-validation to measure NOx emissions for EPA and CARB
certification approvals due to an exhaust back pressure reduction of 21 %
on Ford Fiesta ST Line with a 1.6L PSI engine.
▪ High altitude emissions process validation and implementation with a sea
level simulator to reduce traveling and test costs by 20-30 % between
Mexico City and Detroit. Applicable to all vehicle programs developed at
Ford of Mexico.
▪ 60 % data post processing time reduction from Idle Speed Control tests by
a Matlab and Excel programming implementation. Applicable to all Ford
vehicles with an Idle Speed Control software.
▪ Test development for modelled exhaust temperature (ExTemp) from any
gasoline engine manufactured by Ford to improve the correlation between
vehicle dynamometer and on road tests. The main idea is to test any given
vehicle on a wind tunnel with a vehicle dynamometer to improve air
circulation underneath the car, reducing air pressure and temperature by
avoiding air remain static. Analysis done with an EcoSport 2.0L GDI.

Carlos Fernández
Page 2 of 5
 ▪ Calibration Concurrence tests. Vehicle is tested at several controlled
ambient conditions in order to prove calibration and hardware robustness.

2016 RPL Racing – Mexican Formula 4 – Mexico City

Race Engineer
▪ Transmission gears, suspension, brakes and tire pressure setup. Springs
from the suspension could be changed if a softer or stiffer suspension was
required, as well as setting the anti-roll bar at the correct stiffness in order
to improve the time around any given track. Also, each gear ratio could be
changed for improved vehicle speed around a given track.
▪ Vehicle lap data analysis to discuss with the driver where he could improve
around the track, in order to take the car to the limit and go faster.
▪ Formula 4 car is a Mygale chassis with a Ford 1.6L GTDi engine.
▪ Team best result: 1st.

2015 Richardson Racing – British Formula 4 – Corby, England.

Engineer assistant
During my MSc in England, I collaborated with this F4 team, where al learned
several aspects of racing; how a team operates during several race weekends
and learned how to set up a car for an improved lap time.
▪ Tire pressure setup for improved vehicle lap time. This was done taking in
count ambient temperature, barometric pressure, and tire temperature
before and after any given session.
▪ Vehicle lap data analysis to discuss with the driver where he could improve
around the track, in order to take the car to the limit and go faster.
▪ Formula 4 car is a Mygale chassis with a Ford 1.6L GTDi engine.
▪ Team best result: 3rd.

2012 – 2014 Ford Motor Company – Mexico City

Powertrain Applications and PCM Packaging Engineer
▪ ECU/PCM bracket design and validation for the CD 4 platforms (such as
Ford Fusion / Mondeo and Ford Edge) and Ford Mustang. Release and
design of these brackets, through CAD designs and CAE tests.
▪ ECU/PCM bracket 30% weight reduction from the CD4 platforms by
redesigning the part, leaving it with its same mechanical properties.
▪ Review and completion of validation tests and PT control parts release for
different builds (Brackets, sensors, ECUs), from prototypes builds to the
production of the 2015 Ford Mustang.
▪ Continuous communication between coworkers at Ford and Tier I and II
suppliers for successful PPAP delivery for the 2015 Ford Mustang.
▪ Calibration software release for the 2015 Ford Mustang.

2012 Ford Motor Company – Mexico City

Engine Calibration Intern
▪ Engine calibration for vehicles with natural aspirated engines.
▪ Cylinder pressure analysis from a Ford EcoSport with a 2.0L GDI engine for
knock detection and improved spark calibration with several types of
octane fuels. Analysis done using AVL Concerto.

2011 Chrysler – Mexico City

CFD Powertrain Intern
▪ Extraction and automation of powertrain related surfaces for Computer
Fluid Dynamics analysis by using NX 7.5.

Carlos Fernández
Page 3 of 5
Education
2014 – 2015 Oxford Brookes University – Oxford, England
MSc Motorsport Engineering
▪ Thesis: ¨ Feasibility study for an Electric Formula Racing Vehicle on the
same budget and level as a British F4¨. Project done in association with
Dallara.
▪ Research on the aerodynamic improvement by the addition of dimples
over a vehicle’s surface to reduce drag and improve fuel economy and
drivability at high speeds. Star CCM+ used to model and study the related
vehicle. Research done for the Advanced Vehicle Aerodynamics’ class.

2007 – 2011 Tec. De Monterrey, Mexico City Campus – Mexico City

B.S. Mechanical and Electrical Engineering (84/100)
▪ Thesis: ¨Design and Development of a SAE Mini Baja Race Car¨
▪ Summer school in Italy and Germany. Courses taken: High performance
internal combustion engines in Modena, Italy at the University of Modena
and Reggio Emilia. Intensive course in selected topics of automotive
engineering in Esslingen, Germany.
▪ Member and Captain of the Mini Baja SAE project. An off-road car was
designed, developed and built. The vehicle was designed following several
vehicle dynamics simulations in ADAMS Car for an improved front
suspension. The vehicle and transmission were designed in CAD and
manufactured using CNC machining.

Patents
2019 USB port and cable storage assembly.
Patent Granted. US10468835B1
This patent was achieved by a team of 4 members, including Carlos. They
started brainstorming possible ideas on how to store an USB cable in a
comfortable way for the vehicle users. Carlos brought up the idea with some
co-workers at the office on how to improve the cable storage, as in his personal
experience, this was always getting cut or damaged when not being used.

Certifications
▪ Six Sigma Green Belt - 2014
▪ Tier II Driver – 2013
▪ SAE course on Emissions and Combustion for Engineers - 2014

Courses
2021–now Iknal Semikan migration program (www.iknalsemikan.com)
Migration program for engineers: A set of online courses about the Swedish
language, culture and other important topics concerning the preparation to
work in a Swedish company and have a straightforward migration process.

2021–2021 Delft University, edx.org (ongoing)

Electric Cars: Introduction, Policy, Business and Technology.

Carlos Fernández
Page 4 of 5
Hobbies & Personal Downtime
Running: I run at least 10 km per week in 2 sessions.
Cycling: I enjoy cycling around Mexico City on the weekends with my girlfriend and family. We usually bike
all the way to Chapultepec Park and have a small lunch there.
Swimming: My favourite activity, although because of the pandemic the pool is closed so I currently run
and cycle only.
Instruments: I play the guitar and the ukulele.
Other hobbies: I love building, fixing, improving and restoring things. I usually fix anything that fails at my
home and I actually made some of the wooden furniture I currently have. I also do most of the
maintenance related stuff to my car, such as oil changes, brakes and any other thing that might be
malfunctioning. I am currently restoring a Jawa 350cc motorbike from 1978. I also like gardening and trees
a lot. On the summer of 2019, I planted a Red Wood Sequoia on my parent’s garden and I have been
documenting its progress ever since. I am a big Formula 1 fan and I also like watching other serials such
as the FIA WEC.

Carlos Fernández
Page 5 of 5