David Bange enjoys that his job as Jefferson City's engineering supervisor offers him a variety of duties throughout a typical work day.
"You might spend the morning doing some design work, and then in the afternoon, you're attending some sort of planning meeting or working on something else," he said. "You're never doing the same thing for very long, and that makes the job exciting."
Bange, who has held his position since 2007, is in charge of the city's engineering group, which consists of engineers, surveyors and construction inspectors.
"We have a design engineer who works for me, and also a licensed surveyor and his assistant and three inspectors who inspect city projects," Bange said. "We do designs of a lot of our capital improvement projects, whether they be street projects or storm water projects, some sewer projects, sidewalks, greenway trails, some parking lots, or some site plan work for city facilities."
He said the group is also involved in contracts for the upkeep of city buildings.
"I enjoy it because there's a lot of variety," he said. "There's always something new when you come to work in the morning."
Bange has a degree in psychology and in engineering.
He earned his psychology degree at Conception Seminary College near Maryville and spent a year working at St. Peter Parish in Jefferson City. He then decided to leave the seminary.
He said he then spent a year working as a commercial painter and more than a year working as the driver of Missouri River Regional Library's Bookmobile.
"At that point, I went back to school to get my engineering degree and came to the city after that," he said.
He said his passion for engineering comes from growing up on his parents' farm.
"Growing up, I think back to my dad and how something on the farm would break," Bange said. "It was learning to appreciate how things are designed and how they work."
Bange lives in Jefferson City with his wife, Julie, and 11-year-old daughter, Hannah.
He's active with the Missouri Society of Professional Engineers and St. Peter Parish.
His hobbies include cycling and woodworking.