Dianna Genton credits her father, a U.S. Navy veteran, for instilling her passion for military shipbuilding.
“Once I started reading more about Navy ships and the fabrication processes, I was sold,” she said. “My interest started moving away from high-speed small craft and toward bigger things—Navy ships—and here I am.”
Now a naval architect at HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division, Genton has immersed herself in improving the shipbuilding process.
“I could design something that looks great on a computer, but at the end of the day, you have to go out and build it,” she said. “Don’t just think about your little piece of it, think bigger.”
Building warships for the Navy and U.S. Coast Guard certainly involves thinking big. At Ingalls’ 800-acre shipyard, Genton supports the construction of amphibious assault ships, amphibious transport docks, destroyers and National Security Cutters.
“It’s a really fast-paced environment, which is perfect because that’s how I like to work,” she said. “I like to see results. I like to be hands on.”
Genton has seen ships come to life from the computer screen to the pier. “The most satisfying part of my job at the end of the day is seeing the finished product,” she said.
And this product serves an important purpose.
“I feel great about what I do,” Genton said. “When I see the military folks boarding the ship for the first time, I know we have done our best job to keep them safe.”
After 13 years at Ingalls, Genton is still impressed by the shipyard’s mission. “It’s amazing what we build here,” she said. “We are building huge, complex systems that protect our country. The sailors are at sea for months at a time so it all has to be thought out and planned in such detail. It’ll just blow your mind. ”