Matthew McMichael, Manager Mechanical Engineering
Matthew McMichael knew he wanted to be an engineer at a very young age. He always enjoyed taking things apart and finding out how they worked. Once he saw his older brother go to Penn State for engineering, McMichael knew he wanted to follow the same path.
After college, McMichael worked for a number of CAES predecessors, and is still here today. Working mainly in design assurance and design engineering, these aspects of the field sparked his interest. Over time, McMichael has moved into a manager position for mechanical engineering, with a number of engineers reporting to him.
When he first began his management role, McMichael was only managing small groups of three to six people. This allowed him to get comfortable in the management realm. While a management position was not something McMichael initially set out for, it was not something that he shied away from.
Over the years, McMichael has had a number of managers that have given him opportunities to do more high-profile work. Those managers have helped him get involved in aspects of managing staff and have allowed him to grow his skills and gain exposure. The staff that McMichael now oversees has also helped him grow, from helping him better understand how to solve problems to working well together.
When McMichael describes his work, he shares about the important products that are built and critical jobs that are done at CAES.
“The work we do is important and critical to the nation and security of the country," said McMichael.
When McMichael is not at work, you can find him fixing up his new house and spending a lot of time with his family. Work-life balance is important to McMichael, and he enjoys the 9/80 schedule (having every other Friday off) to spend that extra time with family.
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