Working with Intel Like Father, Like Daughter: A Q&A with Dave King and Ellie Wilson

Ellie Wilson and her dad, Dave King, were both structural engineers in Cincinnati who transitioned into management roles and now work on Jacobs projects for Intel in Ocotillo, Arizona. We sat down with this dad-daughter duo to talk about their parallel paths and why they chose to work on projects with Intel.

Can you tell us about your backgrounds and journey at Jacobs?

Dave: I've been with Jacobs for 30 years, predominantly in Cincinnati, Ohio within our Life Sciences business. My background was initially in civil structural engineering. I spent some time in an inside sales role and then transitioned to project management, and alliance or relationship management. I moved to Omaha, Nebraska to manage a consumer goods client (Ellie was in college at the time and transferred from Ohio State to Nebraska) Then I went back to Cincinnati for some time and worked on relationship management with a Life Sciences client.

Ellie: I have been with Jacobs for about six years. I was hired as a structural engineer in the Cincinnati office, like my dad when he started, working in what was called the sustaining capital group at the time, working on smaller projects for various clients.

You both are working on Intel projects in Arizona. When and how did you get involved?

Ellie: I was the first of the two of us to work with Intel. At the beginning of 2018 there was an opportunity to work on Intel's Fab 42 in Chandler. That was a short-term assignment, but I was basically living in Arizona - I brought the dogs, had the car packed up, and made my husband come visit me. I really liked it, and I guess they liked me, too, so my assignment kept extending and I was on the project for about two years. At that point I formally transferred to the team and moved out to Tempe around the end of 2019. I was a structural engineer on the "progressive build" work on Fab 42 and other projects.

Dave: In late 2018 I was asked if I would work on an Intel project in Ireland. I started traveling back and forth to Portland and working with that team on that project. The design for that project ended, and then I agreed to complete a similar scope of work in Arizona for Intel's fabs there. By coincidence, Arizona is where Ellie had moved, and my wife and I had already started visiting and spending half the year there, so it worked out perfectly. Now, we're both working on the Intel site in Ocotillo, although on different projects.