National Engineers Week Spotlight: Juan Jimenez-Arocho Knows Engineering Makes the World Work

Photo By Matthew Stinson | Juan Jimenez-Arocho, utilities and energy management product line director, is representing Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Washington for National Engineers Week. He serves in the Public Works Business Line at NAVFAC Washington’s Core in Washington D.C.  

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, UNITED STATES

02.22.2021

Story by Matthew Stinson 

Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Washington

WASHINGTON - Juan Jimenez-Arocho, utilities and energy management product line director, is representing Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Washington for National Engineers Week. He serves in the Public Works Business Line at NAVFAC Washington’s Core in Washington D.C.

Jimenez-Arocho hails from Lares, Puerto Rico. As a child, he was always curious to find out how things worked. He would spend countless hours disassembling his toys to see what was inside, while challenging himself to put them back together and make them function.

“Obviously, many times those toys were never the same, but when they worked, that was what brought more satisfaction than even playing with them,” Jimenez-Arocho said.

The University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus, was where Jimenez-Arocho earned his Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering. He later earned a Master of Science in engineering management from Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico and a professional diploma in facilities engineering management from North Carolina State University.

“I do not always have the answers, but I'll certainly will look for them. Searching for those answers led me to pursue engineering degrees.”

Jimenez-Arocho has served in the NAVFAC enterprise for 12 years. He began at NAVFAC Southeast as a Facilities Management and Sustainment Engineer. He then spent five years at NAVFAC EURAFCENT, ending his tenure there as a Facilities Management and Sustainment Branch Supervisor. He finally made his way to NAVFAC Washington where he has served for the last year.

“Since I started working for NAVFAC, I always came to Washington D.C. for training and meetings and the city always fascinated me. After those experiences, I wanted to live and work in D.C.”

At NAVFAC Washington, Jimenez-Arocho is charged with a variety of projects. He is focused on initiatives to refresh key programs that monitor infrastructure conditions and maintain utility assets, as well as developing utilities master plans, so projects are ready to execute when funding is available. He is also consulting on the creation of a Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) group that will be capable of managing the Command’s data and integrating it into NAVY GIS systems. This will allow the public works departments to assess data that is normally challenging to find. His efforts all really boil down to making as many things work more efficiently at NAVFAC Washington as possible.

“I think engineering sets the baseline of how pretty much everything works in this world. If you are curious about how things work and you are good in math and science, even if you do not necessarily enjoy those subjects, you should consider an engineering career. In the end, everything will make sense.”

• Date Taken: 02.22.2021
• Date Posted: 02.22.2021 22:10
• Story ID: 389575
• Location: DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, US
• Hometown: LARES, PR