Manufacturing Engineer I

I assist in the production of Seakeepers by bringing standardization to our process, tooling, and equipment.

My day-to-day is focused on ensuring that our assembly process can maintain the highest level of performance and consistency while preparing for any challenging obstacles.

Before joining Seakeeper, I was a student in the process of virtually graduating from the University of Mississippi.

April 19, 2021

The Manufacturing Engineering department was formally created. We now have a seven-person team being led by Tony Galligan, Director of Manufacturing Engineering. Seakeeper also acquired the Leesport facility.

Towards the end of 2022, I was tasked with confirming that each Seakeeper’s completed bill of material was present throughout the build process. Although this job was challenging, my understanding of the company’s flow was improved with an interesting realization.

On average, each Seakeeper is made up of 770 parts. To get these parts, procurement must be able to align orders and shipments from dozens of vendors from all over the world. The warehouse team then needs to receive each part and track its movement through the build process. Machining takes some of these parts and brings them into ranges that are as precise as 0.0001 inch. Finally, manufacturing must assemble, test, and ship a product that can literally overcome the power of the ocean. In the background, there is a highly trained group that oversees all this movement and accounts for every dollar, moment, and step it takes to produce a Seakeeper. Witnessing how each of these teams contribute to the process and continue to push forward in perfect unison is inspiring. Shoutout to the Engineering team for creating an industry led by Seakeeper.

My biggest personal accomplishment at Seakeeper is still a work in progress. Designing and moving to Leesport is a huge project that will serve as our company’s foundation for a long time. It is a big deal, and we are taking this responsibility very seriously. Once the transition is complete, everyone involved will regard this as a career-defining moment.

I like everyone’s sense of urgency. Seakeeper has done a great job of communicating its long-term aspirations and vision. This transparency allows every department to stay on the same page without having to call out every single play or move. If someone from another department comes to me and asks for a piece of information or moment of assistance, it is understood that my effort in helping their team will help the company and thus, help the Manufacturing Engineering department. This type of collaborative work creates a common work ethic that is very fast-paced. Everyone is on a mission and everyone’s mission is leading to the same goal. We all want to win.

The most challenging aspect of my role is remaining cognizant of our department’s current duality. We are actively preparing for our company’s future in Leesport while continuing to meet and exceed our present production goals in Mohnton. It is a challenge but there is an achievable balance we are focused on holding

With Seakeeper growing fast, there are many roles that are actively being filled. These roles are to fill a missing piece of our company’s puzzle. While these roles are vacant, do what you can to become a temporary solution.

There are a lot of great people at Seakeeper that have shared impactful advice about life and business with me; pieces of wisdom that I have already relied upon and will continue to use as points of guidance. To single one of these people out would be difficult. Instead, I can offer a characteristic in these impactful people that I have observed: they always give you their undivided attention. They take their time to address you by your name. They say, “thank you” instead of “thanks”, “congratulations” instead of “congrats”. It is a meaningful way of showing that they value your time just as much as their own. This is a rare trait, but it is common at Seakeeper. It makes for an incredible environment.

Yes. It is “trust the process”. Whatever you want to happen in life, proceeding events must occur. Sometimes these events take you to the highest high, sometimes they take you lower than you have ever been. Maintaining a trust that these events need to happen for an end goal to occur allows me to remain calm and focused on the inevitable. TTP.

It has been claimed that I am the greatest chef ever.