SWE Distinguished New Engineer

Emily Walvoord is an advanced reliability engineer and reliability leader with technical leadership experience as a global reliability system administrator of equipment strategies for the ExxonMobil Corporation. In these roles, she has led multidisciplinary teams and provided in-depth technical knowledge to drive performance in one of the world’s largest integrated refining and petrochemical complexes.

Walvoord’s wealth of experience in reliability principles helps her identify opportunities and priorities for her team. Key skills include using data analytics, maintenance history, and team inputs to develop asset plans that optimize equipment lifecycles, resolve maintenance issues, and improve reliability. Team feedback highlights that her strong analytical and organizational skills help team members prioritize and balance their workloads. Based on her technical contributions and leadership skills, Walvoord has been included in prestigious development programs within ExxonMobil, where high-potential, early-career to midcareer women are paired with executive-level mentors, and externally, including the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce’s Thought Leader Institute.

She began her career as a mechanical engineer in the ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company, where she focused in mechanical integrity and performed finite element analysis, including licensed technology designs. Walvoord led research of reinforcement requirements for openings in jacketed pressure vessels, which resulted in an ASME code revision associated with design guidance.

Walvoord is deeply committed to helping women succeed and advance. She led an initiative at ExxonMobil to develop a women’s technical community, which continues to support and enhance development of women on technical career paths. In 2017, Walvoord recruited and led a leadership team and membership base in rechartering the SWE Spindletop Section and served as FY20 section president. As an active leader in ExxonMobil’s women’s interest and SWE networks, she advocates for synergies and collaboration with local SWE sections and community partners that have garnered three Mission Awards.

An active SWE member since university, Walvoord served as Southern Methodist University section president and Region C conference registration committee chair and was a SWE Future Leader. In addition to STEM outreach, she has encouraged the Spindletop Section’s programs to include community support activities that resonate with members’ interests, such as joining the community botanical garden’s fall scarecrow festival focused on recycling and sustainability, and volunteering at the local food bank.

Walvoord has served as a volunteer coach for the nonprofit Girls on the Run, which encourages girls to boldly pursue their dreams through a program that creatively integrates running and goal setting.

She earned a B.S. in mechanical engineering, with a minor in civil engineering, and a B.S. in mathematics from Southern Methodist University, from which she graduated cum laude. Walvoord and her husband, Tyler, enjoy running, traveling, cooking, and spending time with their dog, Apollo.