Jordan Reed : Council of Outstanding Early Career Engineers - 2022

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Jordan Reed
Jordan
Reed
Award Year
2022
Graduation Year
2012
Department
Mechanical, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
Nominating Department
Mechanical, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
Biography

Senior Manager of Operational Excellence and Benchmade Knife Co.

Jordan Reed grew up in Corvallis and spent a significant amount of time on campus, resulting in his becoming a lifelong Beaver fan. With an early aptitude for math and science and a drive to improve the world around him, the path was clear to a career in engineering. Enjoying the focus on creating better outcomes through processes and people, he earned his degree in industrial engineering.

At Oregon State, he joined in many student groups, related to science and engineering. While serving in various roles for those groups, he participated in the Multiple Engineering Cooperative Program, with two internships that exposed him to professional opportunities after graduation while enabling great real-world applications to bring back to the classroom.

His professional career started as a result of his second internship, at Ulven Forging Inc., where he became a full-time engineer, progressing to production planning manager and, ultimately, director of operational excellence. After six years at Ulven, he joined Benchmade Knife Co. as quality systems and assurance manager, then climbed to his current role as senior manager of operational excellence. He leads several groups, focusing on processes and people working to promote compliance, adherence, and improvement, driven by data and technology.

While at Ulven, he began attending Forging Industry Association meetings to represent his company and support the greater industry in North America, resulting in serving three years as chair of the Plant Engineering Committee. As a MECOP graduate, he quickly began contributing as a member representative and mentor to interns. Continued involvement through multiple roles within the organization ultimately led Reed to serve as president of the board of directors within the past year.

Reed looks forward to continuing to connect, to promote better outcomes for all involved.

“Get involved, engaged, and connected! It will pay dividends long into the future for both your personal and professional life. My connection to the College of Engineering has provided many collaborative opportunities.”

Degrees

  • B.S., Industrial Engineering, 2012