Istvan Keszte
Munich
Summary
10 years of work experience in engineering and operations within the technology and aerospace domains. IESE EMBA 2024 graduate, equipped with the latest business knowledge regarding AI, strategy, business and entrepreneurship. Uniquely experienced in new product introduction, prototyping, and production ramp-up. Strong communicator, quick learner into new areas of expertise, and excels in fast-paced, high-performance environments.
Overview
10
10
years of professional experience
Work History
Head of Production Planning and Control
Lilium GmbH
05.2024 - Current
- Developed strategic build plans for multiple production sites concurrently, ensuring alignment with business objectives and appropriate CAPEX & OPEX investment decisions that support prototyping and new product introductions
- Led strategic transformation initiatives, driving cross-functional collaboration across engineering, supply chain, logistics, and manufacturing to optimize production planning and execution
- Developed and implemented digital solutions for process optimization, including ERP (Infor LN) and APS (Automated Planning & Scheduling), streamlining end-to-end planning
- Championed data-driven decision-making by analyzing production trends, identifying bottlenecks, and implementing continuous improvement initiatives, resulting in an 80% production enablement rate in a highly variable aerospace prototyping environment
- Drove business process innovation and change management, fostering a culture of continuous improvement, enhancing stakeholder communication, and ensuring alignment between senior leadership, program management, and operational teams to meet strategic objectives
Engineering Manager
Lilium GmbH
09.2021 - 05.2024
- Scaled and led the functional Computer-Aided Design (CAD) Engineering team of 40 FTEs, achieving the company's highest employee retention (>95% retained for over 3 years)
- Developed cross-functional aerospace design and configuration management processes and provided training, guidance, and leadership to the teams, playing a key role in accomplishing the EASA Design Organization Approval (DOA).
- As Product Owner and Business Process Owner, led the projects on introduction, customizations, and continuous improvement of the company's Product Lifecycle Management (PLM – Siemens Teamcenter) and Computer-Aided Design (CAD – Siemens NX) software within the company's agile software development framework.
Team Leader
Lilium GmbH
05.2019 - 09.2021
- Designed the second-generation electric aircraft engine of the Lilium Phoenix flight test demonstrator
- Improved assembly cycle time by over 50% per engine and eliminated frequent operational issues with targeted component redesigns
- Contributed to scaling the Design Engineering team from 1 to 14 members
- As the project management focal introduced and led daily stand-up meetings to ensure seamless task allocation and team priority alignment with program requirements
- Established processes and ensured consistency in applying them across the Design Engineering team.
Design Engineer, Propulsion
Lilium GmbH
04.2017 - 04.2019
- Designed the first-generation electric engine of the Lilium Phoenix 5-seater flight test demonstrator, contributing to foundational technology development for prototype testing
- Modeled parts in 3D CAD using Siemens NX, performed structural analyses on the designed parts, derived 2D technical drawings suitable for production, sourced suppliers for part manufacturing, and evaluated the delivered parts' quality
- Ensured smooth transition from design to manufacturing through optimization of the assembly process based on shopfloor feedback while maintaining proper configuration control
- Supported production ramp-up by resolving shopfloor issues of production non-conformities.
Mechanical Engineer
MIGO CORPORATION
06.2015 - 01.2017
- Conducted comparative analysis of cooling solutions for hardware electronics, and optimized product performance and reliability for tropical climates
- Modeled parts in 3D CAD using SolidWorks, performed Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations to validate thermal calculations, and set up experiments to validate the simulated results before releasing the design blueprints for production.
Education
MBA -
IESE BUSINESS SCHOOL
Munich2024
Master of Science - Aerospace Engineering
GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Atlanta2014
Bachelor of Science - Aeronautical Engineering
Budapest University of Technology And Economics
Budapest2012
Skills
- Change Management, Business Process Management (BPM), Lean
- Project Management: Agile, Waterfall, Jira, Asana, Confluence, Deltek
- Data & Insights: Excel (advanced), Palantir Foundry, Oracle Crystal Ball
- CAD and Analysis: NX, CATIA V5, Solid Edge, SolidWorks, Matlab, Nastran
- PLM & ERP Systems: Siemens Teamcenter, Infor LN, Ascon APS
- Validation and Verification: ARP4757A, EASA Part 21J and Part 21G
Languages
English
Bilingual or Proficient (C2)
Hungarian
Bilingual or Proficient (C2)
German
Intermediate (B1)
Additional Information
- Fulbright Scholarship (2013 – 2014): Awarded this prestigious and highly selective scholarship to pursue a master's degree in aerospace engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Recognized for academic excellence and leadership potential.
- Fellowship Granted by the Republic of Hungary (2012, 2013): Twice awarded by the Hungarian Minister of Education for exceptional academic performance, recognizing achievement within the top 1% of students.
- Scientific Conference of Students 1st Place (2013): Awarded for a team project developing a new method of airflow visualization around buildings using large soap bubbles.
Interests
- Volunteer work: coordinated summer internship programs for Georgia Tech final-year students at Hungarian non-profits, fostering international collaboration and professional development.
- Finance: Equity valuation, investing, portfolio management
- Sports: Squash, hiking, windsurfing
- Music: Trumpet
Timeline
Head of Production Planning and Control
Lilium GmbH
05.2024 - Current
Engineering Manager
Lilium GmbH
09.2021 - 05.2024
Team Leader
Lilium GmbH
05.2019 - 09.2021
Design Engineer, Propulsion
Lilium GmbH
04.2017 - 04.2019
Mechanical Engineer
MIGO CORPORATION
06.2015 - 01.2017
MBA -
IESE BUSINESS SCHOOL
Master of Science - Aerospace Engineering
GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Bachelor of Science - Aeronautical Engineering
Budapest University of Technology And Economics
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