The many paths of an engineer at SaskEnergy

“I've always been curious about how things work,” says Devin Bear – Manager of Pipeline Integrity & Reliability. “I was drawn to engineering because it provided practical ways to solve real-world problems using science and math.”

That curiosity led Devin to SaskEnergy. After completing degrees in Biochemistry and Chemical Engineering, he began exploring the many engineering opportunities SaskEnergy has to offer. This led him to engineering roles spanning operations and maintenance, electrical, and management systems.

“Moving between different roles has made me a better engineer and gave me the skills to be a leader,” he says. “It’s helped me understand how the company operates and develop skills that transfer across roles. Working in different groups has also given me a greater appreciation for each team’s strengths and challenges.”

David Taylor, a Senior Engineer with our Operations Maintenance team, shares a similar curiosity.

“I have always felt that the best way to learn is to get involved and do something,” he says.

David previously worked in the industrial fabrication and mining sectors. An Industrial Systems Engineer, he now works in SaskEnergy's Facilities Engineering team.

“I grew up tinkering and building things. Taking stuff apart to see how they worked, much to the chagrin of my parents,” he says. “Engineering satisfied that curiosity while giving me the opportunity to help make things better.”

David now works with other teams to develop the maintenance practices that keep our natural gas system operating safely and efficiently.

“I love getting to work alongside a variety of people and learn from them,” shares David. “I also really enjoy solving pain points for others. It's satisfying knowing that you've made someone's life a little better by fixing or improving something.”

While David and Devin work on maintaining and managing the system, Taylor Phillips and Kyle Gerein help design and plan it.

“I studied Environmental Systems Engineering in university,” says Taylor, who work on our Pipeline Facilities Engineering team. “When I graduated, I planned to work in wastewater management or environmental consulting. Instead, I moved into an industrial engineering role right out of school, loved it, and haven’t looked back!”

Taylor helps design and install above-ground facilities such as town border stations. These facilities are critical pieces of SaskEnergy's system, which includes more than 88,000 kilometres of gas lines and facilities across the province.

The strategic planning of the system is led by the System Design & Planning team. Kyle recently joined this team as Acting Manager.

“I already had experience working on SaskEnergy customer connection and system expansion projects from a pipelines and facilities perspective. Now I'm looking at those projects as part of a bigger picture,” says Kyle, who has a Petroleum Engineering degree. “My favourite aspect of this job is how dynamic and challenging it can be. Our customers’ needs continually evolve, and the system has to keep pace.”

Like Kyle, Taylor's last position helped set him up for success in his current one.

“It gave me an understanding of how our system works, which now helps me design the facilities that are part of it,” he says. “I used to advise other groups on the operation of some of our facilities. Now I'm the one designing those facilities.”

SaskEnergy plans, designs, builds and operates its own system. This allows engineers to grow their careers without having to leave the company.

“Experience in different roles gives you a better understanding of the business,” Devin says. “It also helps you develop skills that set you apart later in your career.”

“I have benefitted greatly from working in a variety of different roles,” agrees Kyle. “In any job, engineers need to have an analytical approach. But you still need to be practical and flexible. Understanding other areas really helps with that.”

No matter the role, SaskEnergy’s engineers are critical to the safe and reliable delivery of natural gas to our customers.

“As an engineer, there are so many different paths you can pursue,” says David. “Being at SaskEnergy, I also get the personal satisfaction of knowing that my work helps to keep an essential service running in my community.”