BIRKET - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Marketing & Brand Manager
"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."
Andrea is an animal lover and protector at heart. Because of this, her career took an unexpected path.
Having a paralegal and business degree and working in the legal field for sixteen years, Andrea's path changed when a 2lb rabbit came into her life.
After many years of working in the legal field, Andrea's day-to-day became mundane so she decided to take an entry position in marketing. During this time, Instagram was becoming mainstream, and she created an account to share her rabbit's life. Little did she know that little Cooper, her rabbit, would become famous and open many doors for her in the marketing field.
At the present, thanks to Cooper, she's held different marketing roles and helped launch Birket's sister company's product, Firelinx.
Andrea manages online advertising, provides social media marketing solutions, delivers quality websites, and provides online reputation management.
Job Titles:
- Accountant
- a Junior Accountant
Arella joined Birket as a junior accountant. She graduated from Linxin University of Accounting and Finance receiving a bachelor's degree in accounting. In 2021, Arella was accepted into the Master of Juris in Tongii University.
Job Titles:
- Purchasing and Accounting Specialist
Coming from a completely different line of work before joining Birket, Bob feels accomplished knowing how proud his family is, especially his daughter, knowing he's a theme park engineer; that and seeing the joy he brings to everyone visiting theme parks.
When Bob is not working, you will find him playing ping-pong and spending time with his family.
Brian is responsible for Birket Engineering's world-wide engineering designs, policies, and resource planning. He is a veteran leader of multiple simultaneous controls design and integration projects for some of the world's best-known attractions in Japan, Singapore, Shanghai, Beijing, Spain, Germany, and the United States. Brian manages all phases of the engineering process from proposal to fail-safe hardware and software design, technical documentation, implementation, site commissioning, and warranty support.
Brian began in the attractions industry with the Walt Disney World College Program, followed by multiple internships with Walt Disney Imagineering's Design and Production group. It was during these internships that he found his home with Birket Engineering. Brian is an honors BS Electrical Engineering graduate of The Pennsylvania State University.
Job Titles:
- Accountant
- Senior Accountant
Chang Xie has worked as a Senior Accountant in our Shanghai office for twelve years. She majored in Finance Management and graduated from Lixin University of Accounting and Finance with a Bachelor of Management. She is also recognized for earning the Certified Management Accountant designation.
Since joining the Birket team in 2015, Neo has been a involved in all project phases, from hardware design through site commissioning. He has a strong understanding of software and hardware applications and enjoys every aspect of his day-to-day projects. During his time at Birket, Chong has learned to love the theme park industry and enjoys making "magic" happen. In his free time, Chong likes to keep busy. If he's not playing video games or playing the acoustic guitar, you can find him traveling with friends and family, enjoying the pleasures of life, one bite at a time! Most recently, he's been learning how to snowboard!
Job Titles:
- Senior Embedded Systems Engineer
Job Titles:
- Principal Engineer, Software
Daniel Birket is one of Birket Engineering's TÜV-certified functional safety engineers and is responsible for the safety analysis, design, and validation of safety-related control systems for rides and shows. He has created software for first-of-their-kind intense theme park attractions for 30 years, including Universal's "Backdraft", "WaterWorld", "Revenge of the Mummy" and more in parks world-wide.
A professional software engineer since the early ‘80s, "Dan" created real-time mission-critical software for military, security, scientific, power, and telephony infrastructure applications before turning to safety-related software for theme parks. On the lighter side, he has written the software underlying some of Birket Lighting controllers and enjoys contributing to open-source projects and teaching another generation of engineers.
Dean joined Birket Engineering with several years of experience in electrical automation. He now focuses on ride and show control systems and assists in hardware design, factory acceptance testing, site acceptance testing, installation supervision and site commissioning.
Dean's joy comes from grand openings of theme parks he's worked on. This fulfills him and provides motivation towards the next project.
In his free time, Dean enjoys playing soccer or having a relaxing day fishing.
Job Titles:
- Project Senior Engineer, Systems & Controls
For more than thirty years, Douglas has been working both domestically and internationally with many different levels of design styles and environments, and with innovative and/or traditional design tools, new and/or old technologies and software.
Prior to his engineering degree, he was an electronics technician; building, troubleshooting, and programming equipment that were prototypes, one-offs, or custom designed modifications.
Ed supervises all financial management and administrative operations for Birket and has overseen the company's expansion for almost twenty-five years. His previous positions have been with ITT, TOLD Corporation and Universal Creative. Ed holds a BS from Indiana University's Kelley School of Business and has earned the Certified Management Accountant designation. He is married with five children and resides in Orlando.
"Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted, and experience is often the most valuable thing you have to offer."
Glenn's attractions career began at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom while in college, where he worked as a Fantasyland Operations Lead and Trainer. Receiving his B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Summa Cum Laude, from the University of Central Florida, Glenn would join Walt Disney Imagineering upon graduation.
Glenn would have control system project responsibility for EPCOT's anchor American Adventure Pavilion, then the most ambitious of any Disney project. Glenn left WDI as Electronic Engineering Ride Group Leader after the opening of EPCOT to found Birket Engineering in 1984.
Glenn's vision has led the company to a global presence, providing ride & show control services and equipment to every Walt Disney World and Universal Studios park in the world, together with countless related sites. He has had a foundational role in the ongoing process of elevating the attraction industry's standard of care, providing safe and exciting experiences for generations around the world.
Glenn's accolades include being named ‘one of our most valued vendors' by WDI General Counsel in 2011, the prestigious 2013 IEEE Outstanding Entrepreneur Award, recognition as 2016 Walt Disney Parks & Resorts Supplier of the Year, and designation as a TEA Master in 2018.
Glenn is an avid aviator, Boy Scout Aviation Merit Badge Counselor, and Puppy Rescue Flight pilot. He has hiked to the highest point in the continental United States four times.
Job Titles:
- Principal Systems Engineer, Hardware
"Just as blues players can play 20 blues songs in a row but find a way to make each one different, I always want to find different ways to do something."
Jerry started at Birket in Sales and Marketing and then moved into Project Management. He has spent years working from China alongside Birket's Shanghai staff, and his first major portfolio of projects was Birket's contribution to the opening of Shanghai Disneyland. Jerry now travels between Birket's Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Florida offices, keeping administrative policies and practices in line with and cohesive to Birket's values and goals.
Jerry enjoys getting to see people grow within Birket and getting to be a part of Birket projects as they come to life, as well as, meeting new people from the themed entertainment industry and watching the industry grow and change.
Jerry began his education in law but gravitated to business and graduated with a BSBA in Business Economics from UCF.
In his free time, you will find Jerry watching and playing sports, as well as traveling to new places to see and learn new cultures. He also enjoys making memories scuba diving, skydiving, hiking, and through other outdoor activities. Jerry is competitive by nature and considers himself a thrill seeker.
Li Jian joined the Birket team in 2015, since then, he's a active member of the entertainment engineering team.
He joined our team with several years of experience in automation production line system design, and commissioning. He now spends his days working on hardware design, software design, project documentation, FSM production, and is a great asset to our sister company, Firelinx Limited.
Li Jian is incredibly proud of the projects he's had the privilege to work on and enjoys the positive atmosphere of his team at Birket.
Job Titles:
- Jiang ShangKun / Engineering Manager
At Birket, you will find ShangKun Jiang working on RCS and RSS systems for different attractions, in addition to helping team members in our Shanghai office complete their designs and commissioning work. He enjoys traveling to work in new fields, meeting new friends, learning local cultures and tasting local food. At times, traveling keeps him from away from his family, but seeing guests satisfaction at theme parks makes the experience worth the while! One of ShangKun's high school teachers once told him, "It is never too late to start working correctly." This quote impacted ShangKun tremendously, and is the driving force for him to make improvements when something unsuitable is discovered.
After graduating from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, John began his career as an electrical design engineer. Eleven years later, John continues to lend his talents to site commissioning, installation guidance, and training on some of the world's best-known attractions.
His favorite part about working for Birket is bringing happiness to everyone through his work at theme parks!
Job Titles:
- Manager, Product and Embedded Development
As a team leader and manager of special projects and products, John regularly needs to operate "outside the box" to find solutions that are both creative and practical.
At Birket, John's responsibilities include team management, project management, developing hardware and software designs, finding and practically applying new technologies, learning new ways to use old technologies, vendor discovery, vendor management, and client relations.
John began his career working on control systems and system integration in steel mills and metal processing plants and his passion for this field was born of curiosity about how things work and believing that his work brings happiness and lifetime memories to guests of the parks.
At Birket, you will find Jose working on PLC hardware design, doing on-site work, like the startup of The Mummy, as well as the commissioning of multiple projects.
When Jose was a kid, he dreamed of being a jet fighter pilot and that love of machinery brought him into the field of science and technology.
Jose's grandfather worked for the railroad and used to take him to the shipping yard, where they both spent time admiring and building the engines. For this reason, getting to see behind the scenes and testing out the newest technology is Jose's favorite part about his job.
Before graduating and becoming a Controls Engineer, Jose worked on electrical maintenance and automation for fourteen plus years.
At Birket, you will find Korey working in accounts payable and making sure all the bills are entered in a timely manner and paid. He received his bachelor's degree in Accounting from The University of Central Florida.
Korey enjoys his days at Birket due to his co-worker's friendly nature and is dedicated to always learning something new.
"I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing-that it was all started by a mouse"
Larry's passion for "engineering fun" serves as the roadmap for his life.
From an early age, Larry was interested in amusement park rides and how they operate. Whether building model train sets or virtual amusement parks in the computer game Roller Coaster Tycoon, Larry became increasingly passionate about ride design.
After studying Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science at Princeton University, Larry moved to Windermere, FL to work his dream job at Birket Engineering.
Outside of work, Larry is an annual passholder, who visits Walt Disney World often to continue to learn what guests, including himself, find so magical about Disney.
Leslie began her career at Birket Engineering, Inc. shortly after graduating from the University of Central Florida, with her accounting degree in the Fall of 2015.
Since starting as Birket's accounts payable accountant, she mostly spends her days in accounts receivable. Her favorite part of her job? Working with customers and project managers, all with a smile on her face.
In her free time, you can find Leslie playing with her beloved French Bulldog, Bruno, named after her favorite musical artist, Bruno Mars. She also enjoys traveling and trying new food!
Li Jian joined the Birket team in 2015, since then, he's a active member of the entertainment engineering team.
He joined our team with several years of experience in automation production line system design, and commissioning. He now spends his days working on hardware design, software design, project documentation, FSM production, and is a great asset to our sister company, Firelinx Limited.
Li Jian is incredibly proud of the projects he's had the privilege to work on and enjoys the positive atmosphere of his team at Birket.
LiRen joined Birket in 2015, and throughout the years, he's worn many hats and has been an invaluable asset. His focus is quality inspection and control of all materials; including replacements and returns; but you will find him simultaneously ensuring inventory accuracy, confirming delivery timelines, conducting factory inspections, supplier negotiations, and demand analysis.
At Birket, Luke's work is centered around AutoCAD Design. Many of his tasks are to design custom lighting fixtures for several clients.
Luke can work from hand sketches or instructions to bring a light fixture into the 3D program and make the final item. Luke's favorite part of his job is the enjoyment of seeing the final product and knowing that he took it from a concept to reality and made something that didn't exist before!
One thing Luke has tried to learn and accept is patience, especially when it comes to how many changes can occur before an item is final.
In his spare time, you will find Luke fulfilling his passion for road cycling. He can ride for very long distances while maintaining a very high speed.
At home he enjoys spending time with his baby brown dog named Cookiepuss.
Marcial's lifelong career has allowed him to meet hundreds of people that have made his life very special.
He has been blessed to know these people and from them, he has learned the best traits to apply to his life. A life that has been filled with honesty and responsibility and thus making his career as an Electrical Engineer a success.
With over thirty years of experience in the theme park industry, he has participated in the successful design of nearly every park in the world. He has always been driven by efficiency and reliability in every system that he has designed and commissioned.
In his free time, you will find him travelling with his family to almost every national park in the western USA, as well as, growing fruit plants that he can share with his friends and family.
Micey joined Birket Engineering in 2015 with prior experience in project management and the automotive industry. Since joining Birket, she's worked in Sales & Marketing and Project Management. In her role as Project Manager, Micey assists with quoting, coordinating, and managing Birket's engineering and lighting projects.
Micey is also an essential asset to Birket's sister company, Firelinx Limited, assisting with product production. Additionally, Micey is Birket's Specialty Lighting division's Ch annel Distribution Specialist, developing, and maintaining local distributors. She always sustains a positive attitude and is eager and happy to help her team.
Job Titles:
- Creative Lab Lead Technician
- Creative Lab Technician
For more than ten years, Myrian has worked on very creative thinking projects, from the sale to the procurement and on occasion, the design, assembling, and soldering of electronics to the final delivery-she has done it all! She handles projects that are tedious and labor intensive and is completely hands-on at any given task.
With a background in the home remodeling trade, as well as, a special event coordinator and DJ, she acquired the attention to detail, common-sense, PATIENCE, planning, problem solving, and multi-tasking abilities which are skills sets that are very important to succeed at Birket.
She always strives for perfection and believes that there is always room to learn, no matter what your background is. "Just set your mind to it".
She enjoys what she does at work, although she "just comes here for the entertainment!"
Nicolas joined Birket in 2014 after having moved to China. He studied finance and business management and worked in an audit company before meeting Glenn Birket and joining Birket Engineering. He now manages accounting operations for Birket's Asia offices, providing reliable financial data and analysis for the betterment of Birket. Nicolas enjoys his day-to-day because he works with people from different cultures and is able to become familiar with foreign languages.
In addition to handling accounting for our Asia offices, Nicolas works hand-in-hand with our CFO managing accounting operations for our sister company, Firelinx. He is a great asset to the Firelinx team!
In his free time, Nicolas enjoys sailing his boat from place to place in the beautiful South of France. When he's not sailing, you can find him at a gym boxing!
Growing up Nicole went on a lot of family trips to theme parks; she has such fond memories of them.
When she learned about engineering, she knew that was what she wanted to do, as she dreamed of doing a job where the end result would make people happy!
So, when the time came, she studied mechanical engineering and then learned controls on the job after college.
Now she spends her days at Birket doing commissioning and startup of ride and show systems, along with PLC & HMI Programming.
Before joining Birket Engineering, Parker worked in various industry automation fields such as industrial robot application and electric drive system solution. At Birket, he's a control system engineer that designs both hardware and software control systems.
Parker enjoys what he does and is fully engaged in the theme park industry. He cherishes the moments he gets to spend at theme parks and in his free time, you'll find him jogging or playing soccer with his friends.
At Birket, Pete troubleshoots and repairs electronic equipment that is having problems and fabricates electronic items and support projects.
Pete's passion for amusement parks began while he was working at Disney Engineering Services and his training at the Naval Electronic School.
Pete's favorite part of his job is spending time with the people he works with and when he is not at work, you will find him spending time with his family.
Job Titles:
- Technical Project Manager for Birket at UBR
"I get here via the long way, by land, air, and sea. I get here via the people I've worked with, admired, constantly remembered. I am a student of how people get things done with some humble imitation of the best. I get here by family, my wife and 2 kids who prove that they are the hardest project to manage."
Job Titles:
- Director of Production Services
Ray is an effective problem solver that develops customized solutions to meet challenging business demands.
He has hands-on management experience with notable contributions as an operations leader, production leader and program leader with a particular expertise in project budgeting, supply chain management, electrical controls engineering, production flexibility, Sig Sigma, Lean manufacturing, cost savings and creating innovative systems.
Ray has led domestic and international project management resulting in successful, profitable new product launches, on time and within budget.
Ray has a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Management/Administration from Lawrence Technological University.
Job Titles:
- Technical Project Manager
"I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life, and that is why I succeed."
Steve has worked in the themed entertainment industry continuously since high school, first as a parade and waterski performer at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom and later as a project manager for Universal Creative and Walt Disney Imagineering. He is a past TEA Eastern North America and International Board President and is licensed in Florida as a Professional Engineer and Electrical Specialty Contractor. Steve holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from UCF and an MBA from Rollins College.
Job Titles:
- Sourcing Manager
- Sunny Sun / Sourcing Manager
- Technical Specialist and Sourcing Specialist
Sunny Sun is the Production Technical Specialist and Sourcing Specialist for Birket Engineering since 2013. She is responsible for supervising control system production, coordinating among engineers, factories, and sourcing for any products needed.
Sunny enjoys working at Birket because she loves the joy that theme parks bring to people, and every project she works on means a fun and thrilling opportunity for the team.
Sunny's biggest joys out of life are reading and traveling; they allow her to learn different worlds both in real life and in her imagination!
Job Titles:
- Technical Project Manager
- TianJiao Zhao / Technical Project Manager
Overseeing and driving the successful completion of technical-focused projects is Tianjiao's primary responsibility. Tianjiao joined Birket with a background in electrical engineering in the metallurgy industry; however, his major is automation in production. His true passion is seeing the smiling faces of park guests while they visit theme parks; this motivates him to continue to work hard every day. During his free time, you can find Tianjiao making memories with his friends, playing basketball, swimming, and learning how to play the guitar!
At Birket, YaNan works on logistical solutions for projects that involve cross-border transactions.
She spends her days conducting import and export shipment management, planning, and executing deliverable movement, and establishing the internal procedures for logistics operations.
Since joining Birket, Bo's day-to-day focuses on hardware design, site debugging, installation guidance, HMI, and PLC software. He believes our work brings so much happiness to others and that makes him proud of what he does. One of Bo's favorite part of working at Birket is site debugging, bringing different equipment and skills together as a team to make things work perfectly.
Job Titles:
- Accounting Manager, Head of Human Resources, and Office Manager for Birket 's Shanghai
- China Accounting & Office Manager
Zhuo came to Birket with 20 years experience in finance, HR and administrative management. In addition, she has earned the Certified Management Accounting designation from The Institute of Certified Management Accountants.
Julia is the Accounting Manager, head of Human Resources, and Office Manager for Birket's Shanghai office.