Being an Engineer

Send us Fan Mail Andrew and Lisa are Menlonians (team members at Menlo Innovations ). They do things different there. And even though they develop software products, the processes they use are supremely applicable to developing hard goods products, as well. Join us as we discuss “the Menlo way” and paired work, kindergarten skills, storycards, and other methods of producing the right product, on b...

Send us Fan Mail With over 36,000 Instagram followers, Rob Maldonado is the author of #CADModelOfTheDay , an initiative he started over 300 days ago in which he posts one CAD model every single day, without absence. His social media following skyrocketed after his #507Movements animations. Rob discusses tips on being consistent, habit building, confidence, and his trajectory as a mechanical engine...

Send us Fan Mail Lisa started her career working in the construction industry designing the mechanical systems for residential and commercial buildings. A few companies later, and after picking up skills in automation, project management, and electro-mechanical design, she found her way to the design firm Cooper Perkins where she works now as the director of business development.  The Being An Eng...

Send us Fan Mail Kailee shares with us several fascinating projects from developing rugged and reliable prosthetics for farmers to more efficient seating for NBA players, as well as test methods and fixtures to ensure the products work as intended. Also hear about what its like to work at Plexus Corp , one of the largest product development and manufacturing companies in the world.  The Being An E...

Send us Fan Mail After working for several years designing airplane components Jeff grew weary of the similar designs we was asked to create over and over, and jumped at the chance to move into a project management role where he was able to interface more closely with customers. His easygoing manner with customers proved valuable, and soon he was being aske to evaluate new projects and develop new...

Send us Fan Mail Lynne started her career as a process engineer with W.L. Gore then moved to Edwards Lifesciences as a staff engineer. Over the years her role grew to principal engineer, engineering manager, and finally engineering director overseeing R&D and new product development programs. In between her aerial acrobatics sessions (yes, really) she finds time to mentor young engineers, orga...

Send us Fan Mail At 19 years old, Danielle has done more to date than most have done in their entire careers. From working as a PCB designer, to founding and leading a STEAM educational organization ( The STEAM Connection ), and currently double majoring in Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering (oh, and a minor in Physics…no biggie) Danielle exemplifies the engineering-entrepreneurial...

Send us Fan Mail Jeff’s experience working at Prince corporation, an automotive interior company, taught him crucial lessons about the importance of being able to work well with others. He has taken those lessons with him and applied them throughout his career, from motorsports to building custom Porsches to managing a metrology lab. Also, learn about the differences between structured light 3D sc...

Send us Fan Mail Join our conversation in which Tim shares with us his experience as a machinist fabricating custom Harley-Davidson motor and drive train components, growing up in the Mojave Desert, and reprocessing one-time use medical devices. Tim also shares his wisdom surrounding understanding our businesses and production lines at a high level to avoid the trap of tunnel vision as an engineer...

Send us Fan Mail Hear Taun’s firsthand account of escaping Vietnam as a refugee at the age of 6, landing in a Malaysian camp, then landing in Denmark where he lived for the next 20+ years. From Denmark Tuan came to the US via Intel during his semiconductor days, then quickly transitioned into the 3D printing space where he has spent the last 18 years of his career becoming an expert in plastic, me...

Send us Fan Mail Jorge takes us on his journey working at various brewing companies in Utah, transitioning from a chemist into an R&D engineering role, and donating his time to clinical labs in Kenya to  scale up HIV prevention, care and treatment efforts in their local communities.  The Being An Engineer podcast is brought to you by Pipeline Design & Engineering. Pipeline partners with me...

Send us Fan Mail Ed started his career as an air conditioning technician, then decided to go back to school where he earned a degree in mechanical engineering. Working for a defense contractor, Ed cut his teeth doing stress analysis on Pro/ENGINEER Mechanica as well as developing his skills as a design engineer. These days, and for the past 20 years, Ed has been an engineer with Johnson & John...

Send us Fan Mail Kirsty Crofton shares her wonderfully effective experience at Purdue training to become an engineer (definitely look into this if you’re thinking about an education in engineering!). She also tells us about how to work with operators on the floor to identify and correct problems that might be harder for the engineering team to identify, and relates a terrific anecdote about toothp...

Send us Fan Mail Greg tells us about his eclectic background as he tries to “figure out what he wants to be when he grows up”. Starting off with an education in the service and hospitality industry, and coupled with a degree in science and technology, and finally topped off with a minor in chinese business studies, Greg navigated his way through government intelligence research, wineries, and manu...

Send us Fan Mail Rob Donley has a deep understanding of how engineering works. Kicking off his engineering career from a young age building RC cars and model rockets, he has provided design and leadership capabilities for many companies over the years, and brings to the table not just the ability to design something, but to understand the many facets that accompany development of a new product suc...

Send us Fan Mail After deciding a career in welding might lead to an “early retirement”, Justin turned in his welding torch for a polo shirt and a degree in mechanical design. He worked for several years developing machinery and automation in the semiconductor industry before switching to a different industry entirely where he designed and then led a company developing high end iron doors for resi...

Send us Fan Mail Reade learned early on in his career how to communicate with engineers (hint: use numbers). This skill has allowed him to earn the respect of engineering teams owing to his ability to communicate in a way that allows engineering teams to fully understand and appreciate the value his human factors team brings to the table. He has also helped develop and foster an incredible work en...

Send us Fan Mail Seth started his career as an electrical engineer with Honeywell developing auxiliary power units (APUs) to control jet engines. As FAA regulations began requiring more and more “busywork” documentation he joined a small motion control & automation supplier called In Position Technologies (IP Tech) as a sales engineer. Seth has grown with IP Tech and is now a sales manager the...

Send us Fan Mail Mark comes from a background in design and engineering, and so has been able to bring a lot to the table in his current role as a product portfolio manager at Dassault Systems . Join our discussion surrounding cloud computing, AI and machine learning, and additive manufacturing features you didn’t even know existed in SolidWorks.  Pipeline Design & Engineering partners with me...

Send us Fan Mail Andrew grew up in Bend, Oregon enjoying the incredible outdoor environment (skiing, rock climbing, hiking, etc) so it’s no surprise that one of his first jobs as a mechanical engineer was climbing ski lift towers to fix sensors and combat ice with his mighty hammer. From there he moved into an engineering role designing drilling systems for oil and gas, and finally into his curren...

Send us Fan Mail   Ronan’s drive to work as an engineer at medical device companies gave him the courage to move from a small fishing town in Ireland where he grew up to silicone valley. Within a surprisingly short amount of time he was designing new products at Phoenix Deventures and building a fantastic network of engineering (and engineering-adjacent) professionals. Now working as a senior veri...

Send us Fan Mail With over 24 very sincere recommendations on his LinkedIn page, it is clear that Rob’s teams over the years have loved working with him. Join our conversation as we explore how he has developed these loyal teams, as well as how he has helped hardware and software engineers work together to develop new products. Rob’s current role is VP of Product Development at Cubex, LLC .  Pipel...

Send us Fan Mail Margaret shares her rich history as an engineer in the automotive and medical device industries, including best practices for root cause failure analyses, what it’s like to be a woman in the male-dominated engineering industry, and how she helped “Weird Al” Yankovic get over stage fright early in his career.   Pipeline Design & Engineering partners with medical device engineer...

Send us Fan Mail Karl started his career as a field service technician and, thanks to his budding skill within the controls realm, quickly transferred into the role of controls engineer. For the past 20 years Karl has honed his skill and is now Director of Engineering at Machine Solutions where he leads an entire group of controls engineers.   Pipeline Design & Engineering partners with medica...

Send us Fan Mail Trey’s varied experiences within the product development and engineering industry have not only helped him become a gifted engineer, but also a charismatic manager (currently at Edwards Lifesciences ). Join our conversation as we discuss topics ranging from technical descriptions of manufacturing equipment through the soft skills of managing people.  Pipeline Design & Engineer...