Meet the Earth Networks Field Technicians: Jacob Cobb

Get to Know Our Team

Our Earth Networks Field Technician Team is full of great people with an important job: Keeping our networks the best in the world. These folks work tirelessly to install, maintain, and support our sensors. Since they do one of the most important jobs here at Earth Networks, we figured everyone should get to know these folks – who are scattered all over the country.

Meet Jacob Cobb

This week, we’re highlighting Jacob Cobb. Jacob has been a part of the team for over four years now. His basic boundaries include:

• The Mississippi River to the East
• The Rocky Mountains to the West
• Oklahoma City to the South
• Canada to the North

“I get a lot of windshield time,” says Jacob. But that’s OK. Our Field Techs are all big fans of travel as it’s a huge part of the job. We have over 10,000 weather stations and 1,200 lightning sensors worldwide and we only trust their install and servicing to our trusted Field Technician Team. So, they have to travel a lot.

Another aspect of the job is variety in the day-to-day. “No two days are the same. My office views change all the time.  One week I can be lost on the open plains in North Dakota while the next week I can climb up and down mountains, and then the next week down in the Ozarks.  It really is quite amazing to be able to see the countryside.”

This is an aspect Jacob likes, as he spends most of his free time outdoors as well. In the past year or two, he started hiking the different National Parks throughout the U.S. with his fiancee. In April 2017, the two of them did a 3-day hike in and out of the Grand Canyon. He also likes to spend his free time playing with his two dogs, doing things around the house, or hunting deer and pheasant.

The Job

As a traveling Field Technician, Jacob has a very important job. “In my own words, I am responsible for installing and maintaining a large array of equipment throughout the Midwest and Great Plains.”  Our equipment includes:

• Weather stations
• Cameras
• Outdoor Alerting Equipment

“In addition, I help provide technical support to all those customers I come into contact with over phone and email.” Jacob provides a wide range of support that includes the physical equipment to IT/networking issues.  “I have helped customers over the phone and email with damage equipment (i.e. clogged/broken rain gauges, damaged wind anemometers) as well as something like changing an IP within the system.” If there are any questions about the Earth Networks equipment, Jacob answers or finds someone that can. Like all of our Field Techs, Jacob is dedicated to making every customer feel empowered by their equipment.

Why He Does It

A common comment from our Field Technician Team is that they appreciate the good they’re doing by providing communities with severe weather alerting and intelligence equipment. “I love brings weather access to small towns.  I have walked into schools and in big bold letters it will say ‘Weather station install today!’  It feels good to know that my work is ultimately appreciated and will be used for time to come!”

One memorable job for Jacob was Oklahoma State University. Jacob was in charge of installing a large Outdoor Alerting System there.  This system would be the first of its kind at any of the Big 12 schools and his point of contact at the school was undoubtedly nervous. However, Jacob was able to   “sit down with him, plan out each horn location, explain how it was to be installed, and actually follow through with the install.”

Our Outdoor Alerting Systems are hooked up to our global lightning detection network that detects both in-cloud and cloud-to-ground strikes. These systems use both auditory and visual alerts to move people to safety before storms become a threat. Then an all-clear signal lets people know when it’s safe to resume outdoor activities again.

Oklahoma State University is now one of the most weather-ready schools in the country, with seven different horn locations and 10 different inside warning indicators. These systems protect students on all the major intramural sports fields and residential areas.

Do You Know Jacob?

Have ever worked with Jacob before? Please share any stories in the comments below. If you’d like to continue learning about our Field Technician Team, please read about Bill Angel or Seth Baldelli.