{"id":9883,"date":"2017-09-19T14:13:06","date_gmt":"2017-09-19T18:13:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/textiles.ncsu.edu\/news\/?p=9883"},"modified":"2024-04-10T15:16:21","modified_gmt":"2024-04-10T19:16:21","slug":"economical-engineering-adam-barksdale-16-nissan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/textiles.ncsu.edu\/news\/2017\/09\/economical-engineering-adam-barksdale-16-nissan\/","title":{"rendered":"Economical Engineering: Adam Barksdale ’16 at Nissan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n
Adam Barksdale \u201816 is helping international automotive company Nissan save money without sacrificing safety or aesthetic appeal. The <\/span>Wilson College of Textiles<\/span><\/a> alumnus works as a design engineer in the Interior department with Nissan Technical Center North America (NTCNA), using both his major in <\/span>Textile Engineering<\/span><\/a> (with a concentration in <\/span>Information Systems<\/span><\/a>) and his minor in <\/span>Industrial Engineering <\/span><\/a>to figure out effective cost-cutting strategies for the car manufacturer. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to his coursework, he prepared for his post-graduation career by twice serving as an intern with the <\/span>Langley Aerospace Research Summer Scholars Project<\/span><\/a> (LARSS) at <\/span>NASA Langley Research Center<\/span><\/a>, and completed internships with <\/span>Technimark<\/span><\/a> in quality engineering and <\/span>Tempur Sealy International<\/span><\/a> in global product development. He also worked as an <\/span>NCSU Libraries Makerspace<\/span><\/a> assistant, where in addition to helping patrons use the equipment, he designed and created 3-D items for display and streamlined printers\u2019 instruction manuals.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n What are your significant job responsibilities? What is a typical day like?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n My current role in my department is serving as \u201cwindow\u201d for cost reduction ideas\/activities. I track and facilitate cost reduction projects for my department, where our goal is to save the company money while maintaining <\/span>Nissan<\/span><\/a> customers\u2019 demand. Additionally, this role involves substantial interaction with other groups at Nissan, along with our suppliers, to generate ideas.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n A good description of a typical day at NTCNA, in relation to my role, would be on a Tuesday where there is a building-wide focus on cost reduction. I work with each of the engineers in my department to gather next steps for projects with big savings.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n How did you find out about this position and what was the interview process like?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n I had my first interaction with Nissan at the Fall 2015 <\/span>Engineering Career Fair<\/span><\/a> and it was interesting because this was the first year that they attended. I met my current senior manager, who is an<\/span> NC State<\/span><\/a> alumnus, and I treated my first impression as an interview. Later that year, I got a call from (staffing agency) <\/span>Kelly Services<\/span><\/a> to assess my interest in a long-term contract position at Nissan. Then, I had one phone interview and a series of in-person interviews at NTCNA in Farmington Hills, Michigan (greater Detroit metro area). After a year of working at NTCNA as a contracted engineer, I received and accepted an offer to become a direct employee!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n