I am working as a Product Engineer in the Special Products group of
Fisher Controls in
Marshalltown, Iowa. As a Product Engineer, I support the full life cycle for many of
Fisher’s sliding stem product lines. This includes quoting special designs,
helping with manufacturing problems, and supporting our installed base out in the field.
The scope of these responsibilities is broad. This includes going to the manufacturing
floor to help make rework decisions, investigating warranty claims and service requests,
meeting with customers to help solve their problems, and more. Basically
we will answer any and all questions about our products from internal or external
parties. As Fisher has offices globally and Marshalltown is the global headquarters,
I work daily with colleagues in Mexico, France, United Arab Emirates, China, Japan,
Malaysia and more.
An example of an NPS 30 Large ET valve that I am currently responsible for
Currently, I support some of Fisher’s largest sliding stem valves, high pressure
cavitation protection valves, and many cryogenic designs. As Fisher has been around
since the 1880, this presents many unique challenges, especially as some of these
products were designed and sold before desktop computers were available.
Additionally, as part of our Special Products Group, I work on engineering special
orders, which often contain unique material, temperature, pressure, or other
requirements.
During my time at Fisher, I have used my software development background to
improve our engineering tools, particularly with Microsoft PowerApps and Sharepoint.
Along with an intern, we developed a pseudo-ticketing system with Microsoft PowerApps
to track conversations between engineering and sales to provide more traceability
for engineering quotes. This tool is used by over 250 people around the world.
I’ve also developed a number of engineering calculators using PowerApps to make looking
up data in large standards documents easier and more convenient for engineers.
Me in front of the street sign
Besides my core job responsibilities, I’ve been involved in a lot of side activities.
I am part of our recruiting team, attending local university career fairs and conducting
interviews. I’m also currently involved in the Marshalltown chapter of our Pride
employee resource group. As furthering STEM education is very important to me,
I am part of our Marshalltown FIRST robotics initiative, which sponsors
local teams and plans and runs qualifier events. Additionally, I am on the Marshalltown
planning committee for Emerson’s We Love STEM Day,
where we bring in hundreds of elementary and middle school students to our facility
for a half-day to learn with fun STEM activities.
Last, but not least, I have been on two different work-sponsored combat robotics teams.
One team was part of a wider community antweight competition (1 pound or less) and our
team took home the grand champion trophy.
Our Digital Violence Controller 7000 with some combat damage and hasty repairs
