Auckland, New Zealand

Lachlan Campbell
Mechanical Engineer

Final-year Mechanical Engineering (Honours) student turning ideas into products, from Olympic-class sailing hardware to embedded electronics and simulation-driven design.

View my workDownload CVGet in touch
1st
in cohort, Mechanical Design Project
8.3/9
Latest year GPA
2024
Products used at the Paris Olympics
1
Provisional patent application

// About

An engineer who ships, from first sketch to finished product.

Final-year Mechanical Engineering (Honours) student at the University of Auckland with top academic results: first place in the cohort design project and a recent GPA of 8.3/9. My work spans product design, embedded systems, thermal engineering and CFD. Alongside two engineering internships, I run my own business making products used at the highest level of sailing, and I have co-founded award-winning startups. I bring a high attention to detail, a hard-working attitude, and a proven ability to lead teams and ship high-quality work.

My favourite problems live at the boundary between mechanical design, electronics and software, where a good solution needs all three, and I like getting my hands on the whole stack.

Products at the Olympics

Sailing components I designed and manufactured were used by athletes competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

End-to-end product development

From sensor-fusion firmware and custom PCBs to CNC machining and prototyping. I take projects from concept to finished product.

Recognised innovation

First place in the cohort Mechanical Design Project, winner of the Velocity Ideas Challenge (UoA Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship) for two startups, and contributor to a provisional patent for a thermal-management technology.

// Experience

Where I've worked

Part-Time

EMC Test Engineer

Navico Group (Brunswick Corporation)

Jun 2026 – Present

  • Working part-time in the EMC (electromagnetic compatibility) laboratory, contributing to compliance testing of marine electronics.
  • Balancing the role alongside final-year Mechanical Engineering (Honours) study.
Founder

Founder

OnWater Components

2022 – Present

  • Own and operate a small business making products used at the highest level of sailing.
  • Products I designed and manufactured were used by athletes at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
  • Developing a digital sailing compass prototype set for release in 2026.
  • Full-stack engineering: design iteration, optimisation, prototyping, manufacturing, electronics, sensors, displays and 3D printing.
Founder

Co-Founder

Award-Winning Startups

2026

  • Co-founded an aquatech startup targeting lower-cost fish farming.
  • Co-founded an electrical-engineering startup developing dynamic (real-time) monitoring of underground power cables.
  • Both ventures won the Velocity Ideas Challenge (UoA Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship).
Internship

Mechanical Engineering Intern

Navico Group (Brunswick Corporation)

Nov 2025 – Feb 2026

  • Completed a thermal-performance investigation using a custom adjustable test rig and thermal chamber.
  • Designed and prototyped an active screen-cooling system using blower fans, achieving up to ~45 °C reduction in marine display surface temperature.
  • Used CFD (OpenFOAM) to simulate and optimise airflow distribution across the display surface.
  • Contributed to a provisional patent application for the thermal-management technology.
  • Designed and tested a heat-pipe cooling system that reduced CPU temperature by ~20 °C.
  • Prototyped a detachable touchpad controller and firmware to decode touchpad signals for marine chart navigation.
Internship

Mechanical Engineering Intern

Automac Engineering

Nov 2024 – Feb 2025

  • Worked on projects for a range of NZ’s largest food producers.
  • Delivered a complex design update for a large-scale distribution machine and designed repair components to mitigate future wear.
  • Produced detailed pneumatic diagrams and workshop drawing packages in SolidWorks for large assemblies.
  • Helped design and manufacture a new packaging line, gaining exposure to hygienic standards, IP ratings and the design-manufacture-install process.
  • Improved a SolidWorks macro to streamline file management and efficiency.
Work

Bicycle Mechanic / Sales Representative

99 Bikes, Takapuna

2020 – 2024

  • Built extensive hands-on knowledge of fundamental mechanical parts and skills.
  • Led a team of mechanics and developed strong customer-facing communication.
  • Diagnosed and repaired a wide range of bikes, from routine servicing to complex mechanical faults.
  • Balanced high workshop throughput with consistent quality and attention to detail.
  • Advised customers on products and technical fit, translating engineering detail into plain language.

// Projects

Selected engineering projects

A cross-section of my work, spanning embedded systems, thermal engineering, simulation and product design.

Electronic Sailing Compass (view 1)
012025 – Present

Electronic Sailing Compass

The independent development of a fully electronic sailing compass. Initial prototypes paired a microcontroller with an IMU and magnetometer, with output on an OLED screen. The core challenge, achieving accurate and stable heading data in a dynamic marine environment, was solved with a sensor-fusion algorithm combining a Kalman filter and quaternion mathematics to handle 3D orientation robustly. I am now developing a refined iteration on the target microcontroller with dual transflective displays and production sensors, housed in a 3D-printed enclosure, with a custom PCB and final production housing to follow. This project sits at the intersection of embedded systems, signal processing and mechanical design, and is my most complete example of end-to-end product development.

9-axis
Fused IMU + magnetometer
Kalman
Quaternion-based fusion
2026
Targeted release
Embedded SystemsSensor FusionKalman FilterESP32PCB DesignFirmware
Carbon-Fibre Compass Mount (view 1)
022022

Carbon-Fibre Compass Mount

This project began with a problem identified by a friend and now business partner: existing compass mounting solutions for Olympic-class sailing yachts were inefficient and impractical. Early development involved multiple 3D-printed iterations exploring different geometries, before settling on an aerodynamic profile chosen for its dual benefits: marginal drag reduction and a reduced risk of snagging lines and ropes in the busy cockpit. The final version, produced in carbon fibre, is the lightest and most refined iteration of the design, and was used by multiple sailors competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics. It draws on my background in competitive sport and my hands-on expertise in advanced manufacturing, from rapid prototyping through to composite fabrication.

Olympics
Used at Paris 2024
Carbon
Lightest final iteration
Carbon FibreCompositesAerodynamicsProduct Design3D Printing
Active Display Cooling & CFD (view 1)
032025

Active Display Cooling & CFD

Marine displays are exposed to intense solar radiation, with prior testing at Navico recording screen surface temperatures as high as 90 to 95 °C, problematic for both performance and user safety. I proposed and developed an active cooling system using forced convection, designing a blower-fan assembly that generates a high-velocity curtain of air directed down across the display surface. An initial 3D-printed prototype demonstrated ~10 °C reduction; I then used computational fluid dynamics (OpenFOAM) to optimise the vent geometry for an even air curtain across the full display width. Thermal validation confirmed a reduction from ~90 °C to ~45 °C at the top of the screen when active cooling was engaged. The concept was developed as both a standalone accessory and an integrated housing feature, ultimately leading to a provisional patent application and direct exposure to the IP process.

~45 °C
Surface temp reduction
90→45 °C
Validated screen top
Patent
Provisional application
CFDOpenFOAMThermal EngineeringForced ConvectionPatent
Structural Bracket Optimisation (view 1)
042025

Structural Bracket Optimisation

A cohort-wide design challenge: design and optimise a polycarbonate bracket using Finite Element Analysis to meet specific reaction-force targets of 3000 N in tension and 4000 N in compression at 1 mm displacement. Using a 3D modelling approach with localised mesh refinements and frictional contact simulations, I produced a final model that matched the requirements, then generated the CAM toolpath to machine the physical bracket. After machining, my design placed highest out of the entire class. It was both the lightest bracket produced and the closest to the target force values, demonstrating technical ability across the full breadth of a mechanical project.

1st
in the cohort
3000 / 4000 N
Tension / compression targets
Lightest
Bracket produced
Closest
to target force values
FEAStructural AnalysisCAMOptimisationCNC Machining

// Also in the workshop

Other projects

A few more things I've designed and built for the fun of it, across timber, metal, electronics and CAD.

Wooden Bike Frame

Wooden Bike Frame

A full ride-able bicycle frame built from laminated timber.

Electric Motor

Electric Motor

A hand-wound electric motor driven by a custom PCB.

Tool Chest

Tool Chest

A handmade dovetailed walnut tool chest with CNC-machined wooden tool inserts and magnetic retention.

// Toolkit

Skills & tools

CAD & Design

CreoSolidWorksFusion 360Autodesk InventorOnShapeFreeCAD

Simulation & Analysis

FEACFDANSYSOpenFOAMThermal AnalysisStructural Optimisation

Manufacturing

CNC Machining3D PrintingInjection MouldingMillingMetalworkCompositesWoodworking

Electronics & Software

C++PythonJavaScriptMATLABEmbedded FirmwarePCB DesignSensors & Controllers

// Education

Academic record

University of Auckland

Final Year

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours), Mechanical, Part IV

First place in the Mechanical Design Project (MECHENG 334). Consistent A / A+ results across thermal engineering, engineering vibrations, dynamics of fluids & structures, control systems, mathematical modelling and design & manufacture. Latest year GPA 8.3/9.

Takapuna Grammar School

2018 – 2022

NCEA Levels 1–3

Excellence endorsed at Levels 1, 2 and 3.

Beyond engineering

Auckland University Students AssociationAuckland University Engineering SocietyMechanical / Mechatronics Students AssociationFoiling Yacht InnovationsRock & Alpine ClubNational-level road cycling

// Contact

Let's build something.

I'm open to graduate engineering roles, internships and interesting collaborations. The fastest way to reach me is by email.

Email
nzlachlancampbell@gmail.com
Phone
+64 021 0892 4515
Location
Auckland, New Zealand