Below is a short summary of my work history along with some pictures. A website offers more flexibility than a resume or even a LinkedIn profile. Here are some quick descriptions along with some cool pictures. Hopefully this gives some personality and bona fides to the rest of my writing on this blog.
Before Graduating
I grew up in a small farming community and learned very young how to work hard. Way below minimum wage and way below the minimum age. I spent five years working at a dairy. My favorite job was picking watermelons; it always felt like finding treasure buried under all the leaves. It was also peach country, and I will never be convinced that there is a better peach than those grown by my neighbor.
I joined the Army during college and was a parachute rigger in the National Guard for 6 years. I like to joke that I learned what real Quality Control was by packing parachutes. Every parachute is signed by the person who packed it and by the inspector. Then they know exactly who to send to jail if something goes wrong (both kidding and serious about that). I miss parts of the experience (mostly the people) and don’t miss other parts (mostly the other people).
Quality Plastics – Baptism by Fire
I interned here between my junior and senior year, then accepted a full time position after graduation. We were a small company so I did a little bit of everything. It was a bit of baptism by fire as I went from not knowing what a 1/4-20 screw was to eventually telling our laser manufacturer what feeds and speeds worked best on their machine. I am most proud of designing a front partition for police vehicles. I was able to work on that from early design, through standing up the production line (including making our own vacuum forming tools), and finally to product launch. We had four divisions that we designed our own products for. We also did job shop work. Some of the product websites: Prisoner Transport Systems, Long Ride Shields, and Turboklone.
Rustica Hardware – Making Beautiful Things
I moved states and moved jobs to Rustica Hardware. We made doors, home decor, and office furniture with a rustic/industrial vibe. Tons of beautiful products. I worked directly under an industrial designer and would take a sketch, conduct DFM, and prepare all the drawings required for manufacturing. My biggest accomplishment was automating the door drawing creation process, cutting time by 80%. Eventually they decided to scale back the office furniture venture and subsequently let the whole engineering department go.
VPI Technology – Variety is the Spice of Life
My current job and definitely my favorite. We are a consulting company so no two projects are the same, which is exactly why I love it so much. One day I am testing medical device prototypes, the next I am solving kinematic equations for parachute deployed sensors, and the day after I am on our manufacturing line trying to troubleshoot a sealing test fixture. I work closely with electrical and firmware disciplines, sometimes as an individual contributor and sometimes as a tech lead. This job pushes me everyday to be the best engineer I can be. I am surrounded by excellent mentors and constantly challenged by difficult projects.
