Spencer Fitz-Gerald

I'm a Engineer in Training who is seeking an engineering position in the Bozeman region. I have experience in manufacturing settings and as an educator in traditional as well as outdoor settings. I value direct communication and pride myself in my ability to grow through seeking and implementing the feedback of my reportees, peers, and supervisors. I am interested in joining a company that has long term growth opportunities for those who are willing to earn them.During my work as an engineering intern for mcSquares (see mcSquares.com) I created training documents for mills, laminators, and vinyl cutters that successfully reduced the amount of supervisor time needed to onboard new technicians. I also diagnosed principle causes of quality control fails and then prototyped solutions for those causes. I successfully reduced QC fails for three product lines by 20% through changes in lamination procedures. Creation of brackets and connecting hardware allowed for the implementation of ionizing air knives in the same process, further reducing contamination.Prior to attending Montana State University for a Mechanical Engineering degree I worked six years as an educator. At Hurricane Island Outward Bound School I instructed 30 day sailing expeditions to high school students, developing a relentless work ethic and an untiring patience. In Glacier National Park I created and taught placed based geology, stream ecology, fire ecology, and navigation curriculum to kids and adults. At Bohart and then Crosscut Mountain Sports Center in Bridger Canyon I managed a ski ed program that employed 15 instructors and served 2500+ local students. Most recently, I have taught Materials Science and Pre-calc to high school students. My students have made electromagnets, bismuth crystals, and carbon fiber beams capable of holding hundreds of pounds. We only managed to break one beam, it held ~300 lbs before spectacularly failing!My experience as an educator as led me to be inquisitive, often the problem presented by a student is not the problem that needs addressed. I am capable of asking the right questions to fully understand a situation. In contrast, my education as an engineer has given me the technical ability to apply engineering fundamentals (ie statics, dynamics, fluid flow, heat transfer etc) to solve physical challenges. I have successfully combined skills from both these disciplines to complete design projects from HVAC to aerodynamic analysis of tractor-trailers.