Nikolai Kulikov

Nikolai Kulikov

Mechanical and R&D engineer. I take hardware from the first calculation to series production.

Founder, Kulicage Dynamics

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Download CV (PDF)

Open to R&D partnerships and engineering roles.

Portrait of Nikolai Kulikov
Based in
Charlotte, NC
Experience
10+ years
Degree
Aerospace eng., 2014

About

I'm a mechanical engineer with more than ten years in mechanical design, hydraulics, robotics and production support. I've designed multi-stage hydraulic actuators and remotely operated platforms for hazardous environments, and taken my own product from design to series production and sales.

Today I lead the TorrideX energy-conversion program at Kulicage Dynamics, the company I founded in 2024, pairing simulation with hands-on hardware design. I am a named inventor on U.S. patent applications filed in 2025.

  • Mechanical design & CAD
  • Hydraulics & heavy mechanisms
  • Robotics for hazardous environments
  • CFD, FEA & thermal analysis
  • Additive manufacturing
  • Design for manufacturing
  • Plasma & energy conversion R&D

Selected case studies

Each one follows the same thread: the problem, how I approached it, and what came out of it.

≈3,000kits sold
15,000+components made

As of November 2026

Production TPU seals on a modified FDM printer

Own product: intercooler seals for diesel engines

Problem
The seals needed soft TPU (Shore 65A), and standard FDM extruders jam on filament that soft at production volume.
Approach
Rebuilt a printer around a direct-drive flexible-filament path, a 32-bit board with TMC2209 drivers and reworked Marlin firmware.
Impact
≈3,000 kits sold and 15,000+ components made, from design through production and sales.
Read the case study
Program stage: modeling and numerical verification now; electrically heated bench test next Current stage Next Modeling Numerical verification Bench test electrically heated

TorrideX energy conversion

Kulicage Dynamics R&D program

Problem
Compact, long-duration power that turns heat directly into electricity, with no moving parts.
Approach
Plasma-assisted thermionic conversion, developed simulation-first: models are checked against analytical references before they size hardware.
Status
Modeling and numerical verification. Next: a non-radioactive, electrically heated bench experiment.

Kulicage Dynamics LLC / TorrideX is a member of the NVIDIA Inception program.

My role in TorrideX Program page on kdyn.tech
Translucent CAD model of the SkyForge ozone generator housing with two generator cells inside

SkyForge ozone generator

SkyForge Inc., 2024–2025. Mechanical lead and R&D engineer, formerly CTO

Problem
Ozone generation and injection hardware for aviation use, under tight mass, airflow and integration constraints.
Approach
Mechanical development of the ozone generator: concept designs, prototyping, airflow analysis and planning of test setups.
Impact
Hello Tomorrow Deep Tech Pioneer, 2024, with features in CEOWORLD Magazine and TechBullion.
Hello Tomorrow announcement CEOWORLD feature
Generic schematic of a motion-compensated gangway on a hydraulic hexapod, reaching from a vessel to an offshore platform Generic schematic, not to scale

Offshore and hazardous-environment machinery

Prior engineering experience, 2014–2021

Problem
Move people safely between vessels and offshore platforms in rough seas, and protect a robot's electronics in high-radiation zones.
Approach
Hydraulic hexapod kinematics with active wave compensation; component packaging and shielding sized within strict weight limits.
Impact
Prototype design with kinematic verification; subsystem layouts delivered for the robot's master assembly.
Read the case study

How I work

An R&D loop that spends simulation time to save hardware iterations.

  1. Hypothesis

    Define the physical limit to beat and what a working result has to show.

  2. Simulation

    CFD, FEA and thermal models, checked against analytical references, to cut physical iterations.

    COMSOL, ANSYS, OpenFOAM, Python, NVIDIA Warp

  3. Prototyping

    Rapid fabrication: FDM and SLA printing, CNC, bench electronics.

  4. Validation

    Instrumented tests, data analysis in Python, failure analysis and design fixes.

Validation results feed the next hypothesis.

Experience

  1. Founder

    Kulicage Dynamics LLC

    TorrideX energy-conversion R&D: modeling, verification and mechanical design.

  2. Mechanical lead, R&D engineer

    SkyForge Inc.

    Ozone generator and injection system. Hello Tomorrow Deep Tech Pioneer, 2024.

  3. Senior mechanical design engineer

    Seattle Foundation Repairs and BunkerUSA

    Protective structures and enclosures for harsh environments.

  4. Senior mechanical design engineer

    Engineering enterprise

    Mobile robotic platforms and remote-controlled systems for hazardous environments.

  5. Founder and lead engineer

    Own product line

    TPU intercooler seals, from design to series production: ≈3,000 kits sold.

  6. Senior mechanical design engineer

    Heavy-machinery manufacturer

    Heavy-duty assemblies and subsystems for large industrial machinery under high loads.

Recognition and media

Contact

Write about an engineering role, a project or a partnership. For Kulicage Dynamics and TorrideX inquiries, the company site has its own contact form.