2nd Rotation Co-Op
Michael
Experience Information
Employer: Gentex Corporation
Job Title: Hardware Design Engineer
Major: Computer Engineering
Received Credit: Yes
Paid: Yes
Abroad: No
Description of the Organization
Gentex corporation is a company fairly large company of nearly 7000 people having branches located globally including Japan, Germany, and China. Although the company is large, it is run fairly local within the Zeeland MI area having all of it's production and engineering located within the area.
Description of the Tasks/Projects Completed
I was tasked with completing a large variety of projects big and small. The primary task I was assigned was doing circuit design. This is where I was given a project and I was tasked will design circuits to function with the guidelines and requirements provided. These circuits were then to be laid out but a PCB layout engineer. Many other tasks were also assigned to me including doing soldering work, thermal testing, ESD testing, EMC testing, research, and debugging of hardware failures. I was fortunate enough to gain experience with thermal cameras, thermal chambers, environmental chambers, heat guns, microscope imaging, and several other engineering tools and equipment.
Skills/Knowledge Gained Through The Experience
A large amount of new engineering knowledge and profession skills in this field. These skills including the use of the listed equipment above, circuit design skills, EMC knowledge, ESD knowledge, production knowledge, and general knowledge in the automotive and aerospace industry.
Favorite Part of the Experience
Honestly the people, experience, and environment. I enjoy working at Gentex. I primarily love everything about this job other than the paper work. Testing, design, and research were all enjoyable aspects of the job. Along with that the environment and people gave me free range to explore in the field within the company.
How the Experience Influenced Future Career Goals
Honestly it's reassured me that engineering is the right major for me and I strive to work for a company as great as Gentex. I want to be a successful and creative engineer for a company that takes care of its staff.