2018 Engineering Leader Under 40: William Kidd, 32

Mechanical Team Lead, RedViking, Plymouth, MI, United States

By McKenzie Burns, Production Coordinator September 13, 2018

William Kidd, 32
Mechanical Team Lead
RedViking, Plymouth, MI, United States
BS Mechanical Engineering, Cornell University

Bill has been considered instrumental in the rising success of RedViking over the past 5 years. He and his team have developed groundbreaking technical advancements that are changing the powertrain test system and jet engine industries, including the most powerful helicopter transmission test stand in the industry with over 17,000 hp of capacity and a rotor head connection that can test every torque, thrust, shear, and moment that a transmission would see in flight. He has also been instrumental in the development of a dual input planetary gear set that varies the drivetrain gear ratio, enabling one flexible four-square test stand to test five different helicopter transmissions, a high-speed shaft and coupling test stand, rotary and linear actuator test stands, and an NVH transmission test stand. Bill recently took on the role of Mechanical Team Leader and made an immediate impact by leading his team to successful execution of their projects with proper planning, tracking, and reporting on all projects within his group.

Fun Fact: For the past 3 years, Bill has been creating wood and metal artwork and furniture at a local makerspace.