Jared Jennings

Staff engineer
Altec Industries
Hometown: Bethany, Mo.
B.S. in mechanical engineering and ASM, May 2010
Minors in agricultural economics and mathematics
Hobbies: hunting, fishing, building and fixing things and working on our small farm

Experiencing all MU had to offer

Internships, clubs and Study Abroad opportunities enhanced my college experience and opened employment opportunities while earning two bachelor degrees at the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources and College of Engineering.

I am a staff engineer at Altec Industries. I design the world’s best aerial devices, also known as bucket trucks, to serve our customers in the electric utility industry. I work on a team of engineers and designers using 3D CAD modeling, finite element analysis and other software for design optimization. I also facilitate component level and machine level performance and durability testing to validate the design and then work with the production team to give our customers the best product available.

I love working for a company committed to designing the best products to make our customers’ jobs easier and safer. There is not much better than building a great product that exceeds customer expectations and outperforms your competition.

I had five internships during my six years at MU. Two of those were at John Deere dealerships, one was an engineering internship at CNH, and two internships at AGCO Corporation in Hesston, Kansas. My first internship at AGCO was a design engineering internship in the Windrower Group, which includes self-propelled, pull-type hay mowers. My second AGCO internship focused on windrowers in the Field Test engineering group.

My internships cemented my goal of working as an engineer for an agricultural machinery manufacturer.

After graduation in May 2010, I accepted a position with AGCO. I worked in field test engineering on self-propelled windrowers. I then worked on design of large square balers and then design of self-propelled windrowers.

I left AGCO to accept my current position with Altec and to move closer to my hometown. I grew upon a small cattle farm near Bethany. My wife and I live in Pattonsburg, which is between Bethany where she teaches school, and St. Joseph where I work.

I met my wife through her brother, a friend and fellow member of the Mizzou Quarter-Scale Tractor Team, the Torq’N Tigers. Team members design and build a quarter-scale tractor from scratch and compete in the international ¼ Scale Student Design Competition sponsored by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. I also belonged to the Ag Systems Management Club and was an Independent Aggie. I cannot say enough about the opportunities afforded to me by participating in the quarter-scale competition. It was the highlight of my education at Mizzou.

I had other opportunities such as two Study Abroad trips, one in Germany and another in Brazil. This gave me an open mind about how machinery is used differently around the world.

My advisers at MU, Dr. Steven Borgelt and Dr. Leon Schumacher, were influential throughout my college career. They advised me on class choices and internships. Their positive encouragement in academics and extracurricular activities taught me valuable lessons and gave me the skills to succeed.