ISS Technology Update, Volume 9 Number 5

6
Meet the Expert—David Engler
David Engler is a Design Engineer in Enterprise Servers and Storage (ESS). Over his 13-
year career, David has gained very diverse engineering knowledge due to his
involvement with most of the HP ProLiant server platforms, ranging from the 1U DL360
server to the 5U ML570 server. His responsibilities focus on solving customer issues
regarding current storage and server products and applying those solutions to future
products.
Jeoff Krontz, David’s manager, says, ―David has a breadth of experience that allows
him to provide valuable engineering and problem-solving insight across the ISS product
portfolio. He has an excellent track record of resolving issues quickly to minimize
customer downtime and manufacturing interruptions, both of which increase customer
satisfaction.‖
Jeoff wishes he could clone David’s passion for engineering. ―David works tirelessly on
solutions because he enjoys the challenge,‖ says Jeoff, ―not because it’s his job.‖
Where the passion began
After graduating from Johnson City High School in Central Texas, David attended the
University of Houston to major in Electrical Engineering. Working in research labs while
attending UH, he was able to relate the practical to the theoretical. He developed a
passion for engineering when he realized that it was the best way to merge his creativity with a stable professional career.
Shortly after he started working as a software engineer, he decided that hardware engineering was better suited to his goals
and talents.
Trying to pass it on
David has a son, Chris (17), who also wants to be an engineer, and a daughter, Lauren (12), who does not. But to bring
their talents together, he wants them to help in restoring his classic Ford Mustangs: a 1965 V8 coupe (Chris’ favorite) and
1969 convertible (Lauren’s favorite). They also join him in outdoor activities—running, riding bikes and motorcycles, and
camping (see photo above at McKinney Falls State Park in Austin, TX).
His favorite accomplishment
His favorite accomplishments and inventions came early in his career with Compaq. They involved HD TV and rear
projection TV development. Within ESS, his favorite inventions are associated with hot-plug system memory. Still, he gets the
most satisfaction from applying his diverse skills across many engineering disciplines. On his own, he is working on an
ultrasound-based golf caddy that can follow a golfer around the course as well as a prototype blood/saline analyzer for
post-operative heart surgery patients.
Where he gets his ideas
Given the current product development model in the industry, HP engineers strive to design important server and storage
features that customers need. These features are not always intuitive to engineers, so they have to engage customers
whenever possible. David has found that the quarterly HP ISS Technology Tours are a great way to get important feedback
from customers. He uses this feedback to solve customer issues and to plan features in future server and storage
architectures. This is one reason why HP leads the industry in power efficiency, power management, and server
management solutions.
Name: David Engler
Title: Design Engineer – ESS
Years at HP: 13
University/Degree: University of
Houston / BSEE
U.S. Patents: 8