Berkay Kuşkıra

Profile

Lead Structural Analysis Engineer at Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), working on metallic and composite aircraft primary structure since 2017 (9+ years). Currently responsible for fatigue and damage tolerance (DaDT) on a fighter-jet programme and, since late 2025, for analysis method and tool development in the stress group. Earlier work covers EASA CS-23 certification stress analysis on the Hürkuş trainer (forward fuselage and rudder), GFEM-based sizing of fighter primary structure, and preliminary landing-gear and eVTOL structural studies. The day-to-day work is stress reports taken through release, slow-crack-growth and fail-safe assessments, and non-conformance dispositions agreed with the loads, design and test teams.

Experience

1. Method & Tool Development Engineer

   Oct 2025 — Present · concurrent

   Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) · Ankara, Turkey

   • Develop internal tools that automate repetitive stress-analysis work for the stress group.
   • Build machine-learning surrogate models of expensive FE evaluations for rapid sizing trades and design-space exploration.
   • Use LLM-assisted code generation to speed up Python tooling, Nastran/Abaqus parser development and stress-report automation.
   • Write automated FE post-processing pipelines (pyNastran, Abaqus and Femap scripting) that turn raw results into margin-of-safety tables and report figures.
   • Standardise hand-calc workbooks and stress-report templates for reuse across programmes, with version control and input/output checks.
   • Work with analysts and IT to turn recurring analysis problems into tools that are actually deployed and maintained.

2. Fatigue & Damage Tolerance Engineer

   Aug 2021 — Present

   Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) · Ankara, Turkey

   • Lead the Durability & Damage Tolerance (DaDT) work package on primary metallic and composite airframe structure of a next-generation fighter platform.
   • Own the DaDT analysis chain: GFEM internal-load extraction, detailed sub-models, fatigue spectrum application, crack-growth assessment and inspection-interval setting.
   • Write and release DaDT stress reports for fracture-critical and durability-critical parts under formal revision control and design-office sign-off.
   • Substantiate joints, cut-outs, fillets, fastener load transfer and other stress concentrations with detailed FE models and classical hand calculations.
   • Derive DaDT allowables for multiple material and configuration cases and feed them into the GFEM-based global sizing loop.
   • Run primary-structure trade studies on stock size, alloy selection and section topology against weight and DaDT targets.
   • Disposition structural non-conformances on produced parts: repair schemes, life-impact assessments and concessions.
   • Mentor junior stress engineers on hand-calc and FE workflow, fatigue methodology and report standards.

3. Structural Analysis Engineer

   Sep 2017 — Aug 2021

   Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) · Istanbul, Turkey

   • Hürkuş trainer: substantiated metallic and composite primary structure on the Hürkuş-B forward fuselage and Hürkuş-C rudder against EASA CS-23 requirements.
   • Hürkuş-B: wrote the forward-fuselage certification stress report and closed authority and internal review comments through release.
   • Hürkuş-C: led the rudder weight-reduction study (composite lay-up resizing and hinge re-design) while keeping reserve-factor compliance.
   • eVTOL cargo concept: conceptual structural sizing (load-path layout, primary-mass estimation, material down-selection) for a military cargo platform.
   • Re-engineered structural attachments and routing supports for hydraulic and fuel-system upgrades without invalidating the original type-design substantiation.
   • Landing gear: built the first analysis-grade landing-gear FE model and sized strut and trunnion fittings against drop and braking load cases.
   • Correlated FE results with coupon and element-level test data and resolved analysis-vs-test discrepancies inside the certification report chain.

4. Project Student & Intern

   Jul 2016 — Jun 2017

   TEI — TUSAŞ Engine Industries · Eskişehir, Turkey

   • B.Sc. thesis research on a gas-turbine curvic coupling: parametric FE study of tooth-flank stress and contact pressure under various load cases.
   • Summer internship (2016) with the engine stress and design teams.

Education

1. M.Sc. in Solid Mechanics

   Feb 2018 — Jul 2022

   Istanbul Technical University · Istanbul, Turkey · GPA 3.69 / 4.00

   Thesis

   Optimization of CFRP Prepreg Composite Rim by Using MOGA-II Genetic Algorithm

   View on ITU repository ↗ Download PDF (21 MB)

   Lectures

   • Finite Element Analysis in Engineering
   • Theory of Elasticity
   • Foundations of Solid Mechanics
   • Failure Analysis
   • Fatigue of Materials and Structures
   • Engineering Mathematics
   • Advanced Topics in Materials Handling
   • Introduction to Computer Aided Engineering

2. B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering — Specialty: Structure

   2012 — 2017

   Yıldız Technical University · Istanbul, Turkey · GPA 3.55 / 4.00

   Thesis

   Behavior of a Gas Turbine Engine Curvic Coupling Parameters Under Various Loads · TEI undergraduate research

3. Erasmus+ Exchange — Mechanical Engineering

   2015 — 2016

   Brno University of Technology · Brno, Czech Republic

Selected reading

References that shaped how I work.