Enterforce Inc, Waukesha, Wisconsin working at the Harley-Davidson Motor Company Product Development Center
Title: Harley-Davidson Powertrain Test Systems Automation Intern
Employed Jun 2010 - Dec 2010

• Wrote software that uses databases, email, serial connections and had easy to use graphical user interfaces
• Reverse engineered software
• Setup and maintained test cell equipment

As an intern working at Harley-Davidson, I was challenged daily with a number of great projects. One of my largest projects included writing software that roughly a hundred people use daily to keep track of work order progress. This program, written in Visual Basic.NET, uses a database which contains all work orders in the test cells, stores testing comments about each individual work order and completed work orders for historical reference. In addition, it has the ability to send emails using Outlook and SMTP, dynamically links external files, folders and programs used in each individual work order and has database management tools built in. This program became the backbone of the entire powertrain testing department. To see the manual click here.

Another interesting project was to reverse engineer a program that connects to a data logging device via a serial connection. One aspect was to create a new program with additional automation functionality which connects to the data logging device and adjusts values based on the current test running without the need for user interaction. This was my first opportunity at reverse engineering a connection between a compiled program and a serial device. I found it to be a very rewarding experience to figure it out and to implement a program to automate the process.

Dedicated Computing, Waukesha, Wisconsin
Employed May 2007 - August 2007

• Assembled computer server units and desktop PCs.
• Loaded operating system images, flashed bios, and installed drivers.
• Set bios settings and raid configurations.
• Tested all areas of the system to confirm the hardware was fully functional.
• Reworked systems that had faulty hardware.
• Took part in a Kaizen Blitz and led a brainstorming session to improve the line production performance and efficiency of the production cell.

This was my first internship. I had a great summer working at Dedicated Computing. My main role was to build computer systems in a manufacturing setting. This was my first real experience with large manufacturing operations. I got to see how they function and I was fortunate enough to take part in the Kaizen Blitz. This was a one week initiative where the entire production cell that I was a part of was to be highly scrutinized to see how the cell could be improved. Everything from how parts were to be organized to where equipment was located was taken under close consideration. The week ended by presenting our findings to the entire company.

While being employed at Dedicated Computing, I had the opportunity to shadow the engineers. During this time, I got to meet with a number of engineers where they would explain and show the work they do. This included jobs like thermal testing, acoustic testing, variable fan speed settings that depend on system status, chassis design, electromagnetic compatibility, developing custom drivers.

Live on North, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Employed June 2004 - Present

• Set up computer server, media center, audio system, phone and network lines, company website, and other computer related tasks.
• Provide on-call tech support.
• Maintain website and web accounts.
• Supervise bar and employees.
• Set up promotions and advertisements.

Live on North Bar and Grill has been a great part-time job during my college career. Over the years I have been given an ever increasing amount of responsibilities. I started the summer before my freshman year at UWM right when the venue opened. My original job was to help set up the computer systems and maintain them. I also barbacked when they were short on staff. After working in the bar for a couple years, I received my bartending license. Bartending has taught me how to be personable with all types of people which is something you cannot teach in a classroom. As time went on, my ideas and opinions became highly valued by the staff. I always had multiple simultaneous projects that I worked on by myself and with other staff.

An example of a project I worked on was to find a solution to advertise weekly specials and upcoming events so that all customers would easily be kept up-to-date. The current system was to place posters around the walls and hope that patrons would look at them. A lot of time was spent updating and printing these advertisements. This was not a good system due to the fact that the busiest time for the bar was at night when it was too dark to read the advertisements. My solution was to reuse the aging plasma TV's that were getting replaced as displays for venue content. Hooking this up to the upgraded media pc, a previous project of mine, I was able to send separate video feeds to all the TV’s around the bar. This has been a very easy system to maintain. Since then, there has been a noticeable increase in awareness of all the specials and events.