Taiki Shirai

Taiki Shirai is a highly skilled materials engineer with extensive experience in the additive manufacturing field. Currently serving as the Lead Engineer for Materials and Processes at Divergent since January 2023, Taiki focuses on powder vendor qualification, scaling powder supply, and conducting root cause investigations related to powder quality. Previously, as the Materials Lab Manager at Divergent, Taiki led a team to ensure efficient characterization processes and developed a study on the lifespan of metal powder in laser powder bed fusion. Educational qualifications include a Master of Science in Materials Science and Engineering and a Bachelor of Engineering in Materials Science and Engineering, both from UC Irvine. Notable prior roles include Materials Characterization Engineer and Materials Engineer at Divergent 3D, where Taiki contributed to the design of novel aluminum alloys and established standard operating procedures for inspection processes.