Background

I began my career with MD&A in 2017, working several years as an intern in the Generator Specialist in Training (GSIT) program. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Science and Technology, I worked with MD&A as a Generator Specialist in 2020, leading inspections, repairs, and rewinds at customer sites across North America. In January 2026, I moved back into the St. Louis Repairs facility as an Operations Manager supporting the Generator Division.

What do you do here at MD&A? What aspect do you enjoy most about your role at MD&A?

As a Generator Specialist with MD&A, I ran a variety of field and stator repairs and rewinds at customer sites. I enjoyed the dynamic nature of an on-site outage, especially in regard to coordinating with other vendors and customers to complete tasks within their scheduled durations.

As the Operations Manager, I work with the shop and site engineers to ensure smooth project execution. Pre-planning with the MD&A and customer personnel is, of course, important for execution. But MD&A excels in times of emergent scope, including forced outages, responding quickly to customer needs.

What’s the most challenging generator issue you’ve had to diagnose or resolve?

Intermittent field shorts or grounds are certainly a challenging issue to diagnose. Oftentimes, intermittent field shorts/grounds are only present in operation when the generator field is experiencing large centrifugal forces. However, by reviewing operational data and some creativity in low-speed and standstill testing, MD&A can provide the best recommendations to minimize customer downtime.

What are the biggest challenges you see operators facing concerning servicing and repairing generators?

The growing power demand is increasing pressure on equipment operators and owners to minimize outage downtime and sometimes defer outages to a later date. Owners and operators must consider machine reliability when building their maintenance schedule.

How do you help customers feel confident in the work being performed?

Transparency and communication are two extremely important factors in ensuring customers are confident in our work. It is important to explain the processes and procedures for any scope that may be new for the customer so there are no surprises.

Why did you choose to work for MD&A, and why have you continued to choose to work at MD&A? How would you describe our company culture?

I chose to work for MD&A because I enjoyed the hands-on experience. The hands-on aspect of the GSIT/EIT training programs expedites and deepens the trainees’ understanding of these complex machines. MD&A’s company culture is one of constant improvement and learning. We have some of the industry’s best, and folks are willing to do everything they can to support a new employee’s growth and development. We all learn something new every day!

What’s something on your bucket list you actually plan to do?

Visiting Alaska is on my wife’s and my bucket list. We are planning a trip that will include kayaking, white water rafting, and hiking in the national parks.