What It’s Really Like to Work as a Gas Distribution Lead at Milhouse

Edan Hutchinson is a Gas Distribution Lead on the Milhouse Gas team, where he helps design safe and reliable energy systems for clients.

His career reflects the growth, impact, and opportunities available in the gas engineering field. Edan’s work at Milhouse shows how problem-solving and teamwork come together to fuel both professional success and community progress.

Keep reading to learn more about his career path, his day-to-day at Milhouse, and why now is the perfect time to consider a future in gas engineering.

Can you describe a typical day in your role? What tasks and responsibilities do you handle regularly?

A typical day for me is always a new one. What this means is that no day will ever have the same problems to solve. Outside of emails, Teams messages, and meetings, I spend the remaining time dedicated to my CAD software, my clients, and their customers.

Typically, you’ll find me, potentially sitting too close to the screen, buried in Civil3D or OpenUtilities designing a new pipeline extension, helping design service cards for construction crews to install a new home gas service, or creating plan and profile systems for large-scale Transmission projects. When I get up from my desk, it’s to ask a question, answer a question, or to see where I can be of help to my team.

As a Milhouse Gas Distribution Lead, I engage in direct client communication daily. This means helping answer their questions or working jointly with their Engineering Leads to ensure deadlines are met, quality assurance is as high as possible, and that when our plans are submitted for approval involves helping answer their questions and working closely with their Engineering Leads to ensure deadlines are met, quality assurance is maximized, and that all questions are addressed when our plans are submitted for approval there is not a single question left unanswered.

How did you get started on this career path? 

To be very honest, I got lucky. I was 22, had bills that seemed to always go up month after month, and I needed to change something. After working in computer repair for about two years, I took a gamble and applied for a job as a CAD Technician at a 10-person local firm that was gracious enough to bring me in and show me the ropes.

I began by working on new housing developments. I then became a designer for alternative energy, specifically wind and solar farms, before leaving Michigan and becoming a mainstay in the environment of Illinois gas projects. Since then, I have developed my skills in CADD, surveying, client communication, and quality assurance.

 Along the way, I attended night classes to achieve a CADD Mechanical Design Certificate, which gave credence to my progression. That progression is never linear; the way forward is not always clear. Having the attitude of a trailblazer was what kept me going whenever I felt stuck or lost.

What’s your favorite aspect of working in Gas, and what do you find most rewarding about your work? 

I go to bed a lot easier knowing that my direct impact is giving people security in their homes being warm at night. Personally, that feeling keeps me invested in every project. Whether we’re doing a new service for a single home or extending a gas main for a new development, school, business, or local community space, it’s great to know you played a role in making that space a worthwhile one.

Why should someone pursue a career in your field/industry?

As a designer, specifically in the utility and development industries, I think you’ll find immense pride in your work. There are certain areas I’ve worked on, driven by, or heard about where I can proudly say, “Oh, I worked on that!” and know my small link in the chain provided a substantive change to an area. In my hometown, I attended a small daycare located in an older, converted church building. For the longest time, that was the only thing on that main road; gravel off roads led to sparsely placed houses. Being part of a team that developed multiple new housing projects, building a community around what I once thought was an area forever labeled as ‘rural’, was very meaningful to me. It reminds me that we work on the frontline of meaningful expansion, creating new homes for families to grow. We help people who need a better gas service after installing a new heater. We work to develop alternative energy projects. We work for the betterment of communities.

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“Milhouse has allowed me to express myself as a
professional voice in this field for the first time in my career.”

– Edan Hutchinson, Gas Distribution Lead

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How has Milhouse supported your professional growth and development? Are there specific training programs or advancement opportunities that have been valuable to you? 

Having a team around me that believes in my abilities and hears out my ideas is a great feeling. My team leaders have recognized my potential and enabled me to develop into my current leadership role. This has been transformative to my career, creating opportunities that I had either never heard of or had little faith I would achieve.

What is your favorite project that you’ve worked on?

I would like to shout out two specific projects. The first is the service design work we’ve been doing with a new client. The opportunity to directly help the client’s customers by providing a new or updated gas service line to their home is so important and makes me proud to do the work I do. Likewise, this opportunity has allowed me to build a team of extraordinary individuals. Many of them are working their first jobs or starting their design/engineering career with this work, and I could not be prouder to be their leader. I would also like to draw attention to a project that we did when I first started working at Milhouse. This multi-phase project required us to install a new Transmission pipeline as part of a total overhaul to one of the most crucial Transmission infrastructures in Northern Illinois. To have the confidence from my team to immediately jump in and provide my skills and input to this project was the perfect kickoff to my time at Milhouse.