Luke Perkins is the Director of Engineering and Innovation at Knight Aerospace. He leads the company's efforts to create the highest level of technology and design possible and be at the leading edge of the aerospace industry. This includes investigating products and concepts for improving existing products and creating new products in response to market needs.
Luke’s passion is helping people by innovating and developing new technologies. He is an inventor on 10+ published patents and has experience working in the highly regulated environments of aerospace and medical.
After graduating from Texas A&M University, Luke earned both a Masters of Science and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. During his time in college, Luke started a company, Vacuum Box Testing Equipment, and interned at Southwest Research Institute.
Past experience includes engineering positions at Southwest Research Institute and Albany Engineered Composites, where he worked in manufacturing lines producing composite airplane components such as engine vanes, fan cases, and wing panels. At DePuy Synthes, a Johnson & Johnson company, Luke designed and developed orthopedic implant products for foot and ankle corrective surgeries. The job required close collaboration with surgeon advisory teams to gather user needs and create design inputs, as well as leading a project team with members from design, manufacturing, marketing, quality, regulatory, and sales roles.
Most recently, Luke was Senior Product Development Engineer for 3M + KCI. At this San Antonio company, he was responsible for the design and development of a major advanced surgical dressing platform from inception to launch. This involved leading a team of cross-functional engineers and technical staff to create a final integrated product design. Luke has been in the operating room for countless surgeries to better understand the needs of surgeons and surgical staff.
In his role at Knight as Director of Engineering and Innovation, he most looks forward to advancing the state of medical evacuation technology and helping Knight Aerospace remain the leader of aerospace cargo solutions. He joins a team of like-minded thinkers and dreamers.
“Our team has already delivered several amazing technologies. We are going to continue to create solutions that provide people safety, comfort, and care as they travel to the most remote parts of the earth.”