2014 Engineering Leader Under 40: Brian Zakrajsek

Senior Electrical Engineer; Koch Modular Process Systems LLC; Paramus, N.J.

By CFE Media September 15, 2014

Brian Zakrajsek, 32
Senior Electrical Engineer
Koch Modular Process Systems LLC
Paramus, N.J.

Education: BS Electrical & Computer Engineering, Ohio State University

In 2011, Brian Zakrajsek joined Koch Modular Process Systems as a senior electrical engineer supporting the chemical industries. He currently wears many hats, including distributed control system and programmable logic controller (PLC) development and integration, electrical and process control, instrumentation selection, project management, and international commissioning tasks. Brian is a certified professional engineer for electrical power as well as a certified automation professional from the International Society of Automation (ISA). Since 2005, he has been an active member of the ISA and is a voting member for ISA101-HMI.

Brian is an identical twin; his brother is a partner at a small web analytics consulting firm in Boston. In his opinion, being a twin is truly amazing. The bond of friendship, competition, and shared experience he has with his brother is unparalleled. Brian also keeps an array of toys in his office. It reminds him to take breaks when the stress builds up not take things too seriously.

Why choose this career path?
Admittedly, Brian initially stumbled into control engineering. As an electrical engineering undergrad, he was offered an internship through a good friend which entailed PLC and HMI design. Brian loved the way software and hardware intertwine to create a system that is so powerful, flexible, and capable of anything really. On his first commissioning visit, he remembers the feeling of pressing a single button and watching his PLC and HMI start and sequence a natural gas engine the size of a building. Those are the kind of moments that keep him engaged in control.

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Author Bio: Since its founding in 2010, CFE Media and Technology has provided engineers in manufacturing, commercial and industrial buildings, and manufacturing control systems with the knowledge they need to improve their operational efficiency. CFE delivers the right information at the right time around the world through a variety of platforms.