Daniel Du Plessis

MECHANICAL ENGINEER

Skills Overview

Daniel is a versatile mid-level mechanical engineer with a passion for pushing the boundaries of innovation in industry. He has made valuable contributions to a range of engineering sectors, forming a steady professional foundation. Daniel’s experience spans both design and project management roles in materials science, heavy industry, bio-medical, structural composites and marine engineering. His approach to problems is characterized by a keen practicality, strong visual orientation, thorough planning and a tenacious dedication to getting the job done. This drive extends to all aspects of his life and has allowed him to foster a healthy balance between his professional and personal pursuits.

• PROJECT ENGINEERING – Daniel has worked as a project engineer in the heavy steel fabrication industry where he was responsible for managing multiple concurrent projects across their full life cycle. His scope included full project quotations, material and equipment procurement, fabrication design & drawings, real-time management of workshop & site teams, and quality control. Regular client feedback meetings enabled effective contract & resource management, ultimately leading to the on-time and in-budget delivery of some complex fabrication projects.
• PROFESSIONAL REPORT WRITING – Daniel’s role at a material testing consultancy required him to write professional reports detailing the investigations of in-service mechanical failures. The reports presented the applied methodology, analysis of physical evidence, test regime results, discussion and conclusion on the root cause of failure. Leveraging his clear writing style and good grasp of technical language, Daniel was able to generate concise and accurate documents that were often presented as legal evidence.
• RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT & PROTOTYPING – Daniel has experience in developing new designs to solve novel problems. He proved his competency in the biomedical sector by carrying out a rigorous review of academic literature, existing designs and patents, followed by the development and screening of several conceptual designs. He oversaw the fabrication of prototypes which leveraged rapid and cost-effective techniques. These were then performance tested in specially designed and custom-built test rigs.
• DESIGN FOR FABRICATION – By applying his sound engineering foundation with his extensive skills in Solidworks, Daniel has proven his ability to produce fully detailed, for-production designs. He is well versed in creating a full set of deliverables including part & assembly drawings, BoMs and procurement data, cutting lists, CNC inputs, weld design and fabrication sequencing, and quality control plans.
• COMMUNICATION & TEAMWORK – Daniel has worked in a variety of teams and prides himself with his clear and effective communication practices. He can correspond and collaborate with multiple stakeholders both internal and external to ensure that all objectives of a project are well defined and met with the greatest possible efficiency.

Project Experience