Before the sun rises over Spartanburg, South Carolina, Jeff Taylor is already planning his day. A quick scan of the weather, coffee brewing, a check of his schedule and an early call to a customer all prepare him for what comes next. Once he’s out the door, nothing about his day will be predictable.
As a Cummins PowerGen field service technician, Jeff steps into environments few people ever see: the rooms behind the rooms, the generators and switchgear behind the infrastructure, the machinery behind the essential services people rely on every day. He works in hospitals, data centers, water treatment facilities, wastewater sites and radio towers perched on mountain ridges, where power cannot fail and downtime is not an option.
Jeff says the great thing about the job is that it lets him use the skills he’s built over a lifetime. Those skills include “everything from computer communications, networking, hydraulics, electronics, pneumatics, thermodynamics.” In the field, that means repairing and servicing generators, transfer switches, battery energy storage systems and other equipment that helps produce, store, manage and distribute power within a facility.
The early curiosity that shaped a PowerGen technician
Before he ever set foot on a job site, Jeff was the kid who couldn’t resist taking things apart. Toys, remotes, radios and bikes. Anything with a screw invited investigation.
“I wanted to know the magic behind everything,” Jeff says. From afternoons in the garage with his father to fixing flat tires on his childhood bicycle, those early moments nurtured the curiosity he carries into every challenge. It’s a mindset he now teaches his son, working through problems one step at a time.
It’s the same determination he carries into his work as a Cummins PowerGen technician, helping customers keep their power on. Sometimes customers call Jeff directly when they need help fast, and he walks them through troubleshooting steps before he arrives.
From the shop to PowerGen field service
Jeff joined Cummins in 2014, coming from a truck dealership before starting at the Cincinnati branch. He later transferred to Spartanburg and spent several years in the shop working on everything from school buses and fire trucks to other on-highway vehicles.
Now, his role takes him into the places where power must stay on.
Jeff says one of the best parts of working at Cummins is having a network of fellow technicians, manuals and troubleshooting guides to lean on. “And if you ever need tech support, you always have 1-800-CUMMINS to call,” he says.
When he needs another perspective, he can tap the wider Cummins team.
Competing and succeeding at Cummins Top Tech
Each year, Jeff signs up to participate in the Top Tech/Top Ops Competition. The event begins with a written test through which 84 technicians, parts professionals and service administrators from North America are selected to participate in the finals — a hands‑on competition held in Indianapolis, Indiana (U.S.).
Jeff placed third in 2020, then earned two first-place finishes in the Expanded Service category. He later entered the Accelera category (focused on advanced zero-emissions technologies) as he continued to broaden his skills. His first attempt in 2024 didn’t go the way he hoped, but he leaned on his resilience, came back the following year and won the category. Most impressive, he earned the overall Top Tech All-Around Champion title in 2025, ahead of his peers across eight categories.
Top Tech has connected Jeff to technicians from all over North America: “Everything from mine operators in British Columbia, Canada, to people who are working in Chicago on high-rises to people who are setting up data centers.”
Over the years, he’s built lasting relationships that continue to bring him back year after year. Those bonds are so strong that when the list of competitors is released, families and technicians alike rush to see who made it.
“Seeing each other is almost more important than winning,” he says.
Mission-critical power for hospitals, data centers and water treatment
For Jeff, the role of a PowerGen technician is deeply personal. He’s repaired generators in hospitals where life-saving equipment depends on backup power, and he’s responded when storms or unexpected outages put communities at risk. During Hurricane Helene, he repaired generators and brought them back online for a disaster response command center and first responders so they could provide critical support. On another occasion, after a cut power line disrupted a water system, he was called to a site connected to a draining reservoir. Without power restored, a section of town could have lost water. In those moments, dependability makes the difference.
“Fear is a great motivator when you know people’s lives depend on your work,” he says. “It really focuses you.”
He carries that sense of purpose into every service visit.
“You show up. Something’s broken. You use your skill set to fix it,” he says. “Seeing the customer’s relief is incredibly rewarding.”
Most days, Jeff is headed somewhere different. Customers rely on local expertise and access to nearby Cummins service locations. He sees new sites, new faces and different operations. What he likes most is getting a look behind the doors, seeing “the plumbing and the nuts and bolts of how the world works.” Some locations become familiar stops he visits every six to 12 months, building relationships customers can lean on.
What mountain biking teaches him about teamwork
When Jeff’s not out supporting customers, he’s often climbing mountain trails on his bike. The sport mirrors the values that guide his work: overcoming obstacles and relying on a team.
Mountain biking challenges him on the climbs and rewards him on the downhill. It’s a rhythm he compares to working through moments on the job.
“You never leave people behind. Everyone looks out for each other, especially when you get out in the national forest,” Jeff says. He sees the same approach on the job. People support one another, whether on the shop floor or out in the field.
Mountain biking also gives him freedom: fresh air, quiet and a chance to reset after demanding days.
How fatherhood shapes his perspective
While Jeff is proud of his work, his proudest role is being a father. His son, Emmett, has inherited Jeff’s childhood curiosity. Whether they’re fixing a toy, building a rocket or assembling a LEGO® set, Jeff uses those everyday moments to teach problem-solving and patience.
Explaining concepts like energy or pressure to a 5-year-old forces Jeff to rethink how he understands them. “It really makes you think about things in a different way,” he says.
Sometimes, he takes photos of work sites, cranes, helicopters and excavators to show Emmett what he worked on that day. “He’ll sit in his car seat with my wife and point out things that I’ve showed him before,” Jeff says.
Those small reminders shape how Jeff approaches every challenge, with positivity, patience and a desire to set the right example.
Doing his part to keep the world running
Jeff’s story is about showing up on the front lines with pride in a craft that helps keep communities running. Whether he’s repairing mission-critical equipment, helping a customer through a stressful moment, climbing a mountain trail or building a rocket with Emmett, Jeff brings the same focused, values-driven approach to everything he does. He is proof that meaningful impact often comes from the people behind the scenes, the ones who show up when it matters most and find a way forward.
“I really enjoy seeing how the world works, how the world’s made,” he says.
And every day, he plays his part in keeping it going.
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