Blog 6 of 7: Our Next 7 blog posts are going to diverge a bit. We would like for you to get know our company and our engineering team. We are all very different people and have all had very different journeys to get to where we are now. We would like to honor those differences.
NEXT UP:
DAVID KIEKE - CHIEF ENGINEER
1.Tell me about your career. What did your journey look like before you came to CS Marine?
I've always been interested in working on vehicles and power systems from a very early age. Luckily, I've had the opportunity to focus my career on lots of different aspects of vehicles. During college, I worked in manufacturing engineering for carbon fiber turbofan engine components and learned a lot about processes and manufacturing systems. In college, throughout my Bachelors and Masters programs, I participated in and lead the Formula SAE racing team at two different universities designing and building racecars from scratch each year.
I had the opportunity to work at GM and increase my experience in manufacturing and engineering at a very high production level and then moved into further detail in CAD and manufacturing of smaller volume projects at FEV Engine Technology. I then moved into the startup world and spent the following decade working within multiple startup companies designing, building, and testing engines, transmissions, electric vehicles, powertrain components, etc. Along the way, I have also run a motorsports business designing, manufacturing, and servicing racing transmissions and driveline systems.
2. What originally drew you to apply to CS Marine?
Interest in contributing to a product that I can point out to family, friends, and colleagues. In most of my career, my activities have been fairly hidden from outside view or secret due to the nature of advanced engineering and startup companies' proprietary concerns.
3. What do you work on?
I work on the engineering and manufacturing of powertrain systems.
4. Why do you look forward to coming to work every day?
I really enjoy the varied activities from one day to the next. Within a single day I may have meetings with executives, design components and tools, write/edit procedures, work with others in various engineering departments, physically turn wrenches and do other hands-on labor or parts fabrication, take data, and analyze data. This daily variability is something that I have always enjoyed and what previously drove me into startup companies and my own endeavors.
5. How has coming to CS Marine changed how you work?
Honestly, it hasn't really. As stated above, the activities at CS Marine match very well to my preferred working arrangements.
6. What are you looking forward to learning?
I'm looking forward to learning about new clients, their technologies and challenges.
