No, it’s not a self-help course; it’s what team members at Trident Automation say is great about working for the company. The systems integrator employs 41 engineers, technical staff, and support staff that service customers across the nation. Trident supports multiple industries, and customers depend on them to keep plants and production running smoothly.

“I like the fact that I get to work directly with system operators, engineering teams, and plant managers at our customer locations,” said Dave McCabe, controls engineer at Trident. “Having direct access to the decision-makers and end-users makes it easier to do my job to design systems that meet the plants’ needs.”

McCabe has been working at Trident for six years and bypassed the big company experience in favor of a more entrepreneurial environment. “The experience I receive on the job is fast-tracked here. I’m not in some corporate training department or sitting in a cube. At Trident I’m on the job learning every day.”

That sentiment is echoed by Angy Millan, a project coordinator who has been working at Trident for two years. “I come from big corporate America, I worked for the same company for 17 years,” she said. “I look at growth in in a different way now; it’s not about being on a two-year management track. At Trident it’s about developmental growth and learning as much as you can.” In her role as a project coordinator, Millan says she’s the “air traffic controller” for the engineering teams.

“I love that no day is ever the same,” Millan said. “For me there is always a new challenge or a new customer situation—I feel empowered, appreciated, and work with great people who help you be the best person you can be.”

That sentiment is echoed by Whitney Washington who joined Trident in June of 2017. She served four years in the Marines in the aviation electronics field where she discovered her technical aptitude. Following military service, she enrolled at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College where a friend told her about working at Trident. Even before she graduated as a controls designer, she was employed by Trident.

She is proud to be a woman working in a male-dominated technical field and encourages more women to follow this career path. “It’s challenging in a way that I haven’t been challenged before.” Washington said. “It’s huge to me that I work for people that respect your ability to learn and have opportunity for advancement without a four-year degree.”

For her, the ability to have direct customer contact and become a member of a true team was important. “I’ve never had a job where they cared about my feelings the way they do here,” she said. “If I raise a concern, I’m encouraged to bring it to the team leaders’ attention.”

Although control engineers and designers have technical degrees, Trident employs team members in support roles of administration, finance, marketing, purchasing, and human resources. Still, employees proudly assert their tech pedigrees. As Angy Millan says, “I think you have to be a little bit of a nerd to work with a bunch of nerds. And that is nothing to be ashamed of!”

Trident is always accepting resumes for our controls engineer and controls designer positions. Please send resumes and cover letters to [email protected].

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