About Me
Hi. 🙂 I’m an Automation Engineer with Ford Motor Company, where I proudly support the assembly of the Super Duty series of trucks. I love working in automation and gained a lot of the knowledge that got me where I am by reading what others had posted on the Internet… my hope is to use this site to pass on some of that knowledge.
Along the way, I’m likely to digress into whatever subject has my interest at that moment… whether it’s a new product my wife convinced me we needed, challenges I’ve run in to at work, my current home improvement project… who knows!
Thanks for visiting and please feel free to contact me with your thoughts or any requests!
My Story
My life as a grown-up started when I enlisted in the US Marine Corps at the age of 17. I was deployed to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom and to the Mediterranean (on the USS Iwo Jima), in addition to smaller operations, including response to Hurricane Katrina. During this time, I also met my wife, Sarah, who wrote to me throughout my time in Iraq – I used to keep her letters in my flak jacket.
My MOS focused on rockets, missiles, and demolitions – an awesome job for an 18-year-old, but there’s not a huge market for that particular skill set in the civilian world. While deployed to Iraq, I can recall a moment of epiphany… Seeing our fighter jets lined up on the apron at the air base at Al Asad, something clicked in me – “Jets are cool, and I like taking things apart.” I knew from that moment that I needed to pursue a technical career.
So, after being honorably discharged, I sought an Associates in Aviation Maintenance and earned my Airframe & Powerplant License. I worked in aviation for more than 7 years, including more than 4 years as a civil servant supporting depot maintenance of the C-17, an incredible aircraft.
When Sarah and I were pregnant with our first child, we decided to move to be closer to her family. I ended up in an interesting and challenging job working as a technician for a company that manufactures automated fastening systems.
I would have a hard time deciding whether aircraft maintenance or automation is cooler or more exciting, but beginning work in industrial automation opened my eyes to an entire world of controllers, motors, sensors, switches, and machines. There is always something new to learn in this field, which is something that I feel drawn to and that helps to continually hold my interest.
In my travels as a technician, I supported the launch of the world’s first aluminum truck at the Ford F-150 plants in Dearborn and Kansas City. With that experience and the completion of my Bachelor’s of Science in IT, specializing in Software Development, I applied for a position with Ford Motor Company, where I’m now very proud to be employed as an Automation Engineer.
Outside of work, I love to spend time with my wife, daughter, and two sons, and to work on our home and vehicles.  I’m hoping this blog will become another source of fun and interest for me, and I look forward to hearing from you!