2021 Engineering Leader Under 40: Jason Pharo, 33

Jason Pharo, 33
Technology Lead Team Manager
Maverick Technologies
Pensacola, FL, United States
BS Chemical Engineering, Auburn University

Why should this person be recognized for this award?

Jason is an exceptionally talented engineer and natural leader. I have managed him only for a few months, but I have observed his growth within the Maverick Technologies organization for several years. He has demonstrated excellent ability to absorb new technical skills and risen to the many challenges. Moreover, he takes the mentoring and development of less experienced engineers as critical responsibility and has a demonstrated track record of those engineers growing to excel in their own right. You can judge his leadership by the quality of those he leads.

Achievements, Advancement & Career-related Industry Contributions

Jason began his professional career as an (entry-level) Engineer I with Maverick 10 years ago and has followed a steady progression through Engineer II, Senior Engineer, Engineering Team Leader, and most recently Technology Lead Team Manager as well as cross-functional work as a Project Manager while a Senior Engineer. When we talk about Jason’s professional achievements, two items immediately come to mind: First, he was Maverick’s technical lead for a greenfield automation project beginning with functional development through commissioning for the scale up of a pilot plant for a client’s cutting edge precursor material using a batch control system not typically employed for process applications. Secondly, he has been responsible for the recruitment of multiple new engineering graduates from his alma mater (Auburn University) and subsequent mentoring of their grown and development as their direct talent lead and/or engineering team lead. He has taken significant satisfaction seeing them grow and develop into leaders both within our company and their professional careers.

Non-work-related Activities & Hobbies

When one of Jason’s co-workers decided to get married, Jason was asked to be part of the wedding party. He learned that one of the groom/groomsmen activities was a round of golf. Jason had no experience with golf, but he secured a 30-year-old set of clubs followed by enough practice to at least “keep up” with the groom’s party. Jason had never thought or expected to be a golfer, but was pleasantly surprised by the overall experience. He had a great time and believes that golf is an activity that he may pursue for leisure..

Interesting Details

• Jason has had the pleasure of living and working on three continents: North America (U.S.), Asia (Korea), and Europe (Ireland). He would love an opportunity(s) to add to that list.
• Jason also finds significant satisfaction in volunteering his time including for Ronald McDonald House, Wounded Warrior 5K, and other organizations.

Why did they choose this career?

Jason indicated that his career path has led him to his current role (Technology Leader Team Manager), which provides stimulation as professional satisfaction to collaborate with many different business units including marketing, sales, operations, engineering. The freedom to think out of the box and to explore new approaches and strategies to project delivery Far-reaching impacts that can shape the direction and growth of the company; and to combines various different roles, people management, execution, strategy and technical development.

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