During my senior year at the University of Delaware, where I was completing my Bachelor of Chemical Engineering degree, I, like many of my classmates, was looking for a job. I applied to numerous places and eventually received an offer from a pharmaceutical company located far from my family and soon-to-be wife. While working at this new job, I quickly realized that working for a big company came with big personalities, big politics, and even bigger headaches. Within a year, I knew I needed to find something different and wanted to move closer to home.
During my search, I reached out to a friend who worked at Applied Control Engineering (ACE). He explained what an automation systems integration company does and how ACE was a smaller company with good values and great people. In the summer of 2013, I joined ACE and began my journey to understand the company and industry.
ACE had everything my previous job lacked. It was smaller, relaxed, and friendly. The employees and ownership cared about each other both professionally and personally. Every project was new and different, allowing me to learn new processes, industries, technologies, and techniques. With each project, I became a better engineer and leader. It was almost impossible to be bored.
I am grateful for the support I received from every level of the organization at ACE over my 11 years there. I had peers who offered great mentorship, supervisors who were hands-on in teaching me every part of a project, and upper management who made me feel like a critical part of ACE and taught me about the business. Beyond these experiences, I built friendships at every level of the company.
I enjoy looking back over my 11 years and reflecting on the ups and downs that helped me grow. During that same time, I had the pleasure of watching ACE grow and seeing how everyone’s involvement made that growth a reality. I saw opportunities increase and evolve within ACE as the business developed and shifted to meet the ever-growing staff, projects, and customer needs. I witnessed ownership changes, staff levels increase, and new positions, offices, departments, and offerings created. Throughout it all, everyone strived to maintain the core values and experiences that I enjoyed during my career at ACE.
In late summer of 2023, I decided to talk to upper management about creating a position focused on driving the internal evolution of ACE. Before I had a chance, a job posting was announced for a new Continuous Improvement Lead role. Excitedly, I applied right away and spoke with the hiring manager. The position I had envisioned was apparently on ACE’s mind as well.
I am now ACE’s first Continuous Improvement Lead and excited to develop this role within the company. In this position, I am identifying areas for improvement, prioritizing their implementation, and ensuring the involvement of all key stakeholders. As the company evolves and grows, I am committed to improving our processes, enabling my coworkers, and maintaining the aspects that drew me to ACE for all current and future employees.