Being an Engineer

Jaksot

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  Antonio Valadez & Nate Post | Building Better Engineers Through Better Leadership 11.09.2026 1t 6min

  Send us Fan Mail Nate Post and Antonio “Tony” Valadez bring decades of combined experience leading engineering, manufacturing, continuous improvement, and new product introduction efforts within the medical-device industry. Nate currently serves as Director of New Product Introduction at Edwards Lifesciences, where his career has progressed through manufacturing leadership and NPI roles. Outside of medical devices, he is the founder of Blue Collar Blades, where he handcrafts knives and other ...
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  Jacob Evink | From CAD to Mechanical Curiosity: Student Engineer Spotlight 04.09.2026 36min

  Send us Fan Mail Jacob Evink is a mechanical engineering student at Western Michigan University with interests in mechanical design, robotics, manufacturing, and product development. Rather than waiting until graduation to begin practicing engineering, Jacob is actively developing projects that allow him to apply CAD, prototyping, electronics, and mechanical problem-solving to real-world challenges. His industry experience has already exposed him to several sides of the product-developm...
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  Robert States | How Engineers Can Thrive in Corporate R&D 28.08.2026 47min

  Send us Fan Mail Robert States is Vice President of Technical Services at Cormica Medical Device & Pharmaceutical Testing, where he supports clients across medical device, pharmaceutical, and combination product testing. His work spans development strategy, risk management, testing strategy, process development, supply chain optimization, and regulatory-minded technical problem solving. Cormica’s announcement of his appointment highlighted his role in strengthening global technical servic...
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  Michael Brooks | How BayCath Medical Is Rethinking Catheter Development 21.08.2026 48min

  Send us Fan Mail Michael Brooks is the founder and CEO of BayCath Medical, a Silicon Valley medical-device company specializing in the design, development, and contract manufacturing of catheter-based products. BayCath was created to give startups and fast-moving R&D teams a more collaborative manufacturing partner—one capable of supporting rapid prototyping, iterative development, pilot production, and smoother transfers into manufacturing. Michael launched BayCath after seeing cat...
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  Tony Kelbert | Authenticity, Engineering, and the Business of Manufacturing 14.08.2026 1t 11min

  Send us Fan Mail Tony Kelbert is a mechanical engineer, manufacturing strategist, and Chief Burrito Officer at AeroGrowth, an organization focused on helping precision manufacturers pursue and win the right aerospace and defense work. Drawing on experience from both the OEM and supplier sides of the industry, Tony helps manufacturers better understand positioning, quoting, customer relationships, and the realities of selling into complex aerospace supply chains. Tony began his engineeri...
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  S7E33 Sam Thomason | The Black Magic of Nano-Machining 07.08.2026 1t

  Send us Fan Mail Sam Thomason’s career sits at the intersection of technical sales, manufacturing automation, Japanese business culture, and advanced machining. With more than 14 years of experience in CNC machinery, factory automation, and industrial robotics, Sam has worked across the U.S., Japan, and Australia helping manufacturers evaluate and adopt technologies that improve productivity, safety, and competitiveness. He is currently National Sales Manager for Shibaura Machine Compan...
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  S7E32 Steven Szymeczek | From Taking Things Apart to Teaching Engineers How to Build 31.07.2026 46min

  Send us Fan Mail Steven Szymeczek joins the podcast to share a career shaped by curiosity, hands-on learning, and a willingness to explore new opportunities. He traces his path from taking apart gadgets as a child to manufacturing crop-duster components early in his career, designing aircraft interiors, and eventually launching his own product development business. Steven and Aaron discuss the realities of moving from engineering into entrepreneurship, including learning how to communic...
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  S7E31 Stanley Leong | Engineering Your Finances: A Former Electrical Engineer’s Guide to Building Wealth 24.07.2026 50min

  Send us Fan Mail Stanley C. Leong brings an unusual and highly relevant perspective to the world of engineering career development: he started as an engineer, then built a second career helping engineers manage the wealth and financial complexity that can come with technical success. He earned both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University before working in chip design roles at IBM and Agilent Technologies. That early engineering background s...
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  S7E30 Steve Riley | Small Improvements, Big ROI: Lessons from the Factory Floor 17.07.2026 36min

  Send us Fan Mail Steve Riley brings a unique perspective to Being An Engineer because he is not an engineer by title, but he has spent his career working directly in the environments where engineering, operations, manufacturing, and continuous improvement have to come together. His background spans plant leadership, program management, operations management, engineering management, injection molding, medical products, carbon fiber manufacturing, dental equipment, and Lean/5S implementation.&n...
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  PDX 2026 Tickets Are 50% Off August 3–7 16.07.2026 1min

  Send us Fan Mail PDX 2026 is October 20-21 in Phoenix, AZ. Attendee tickets are 50% off August 3-7 only. Learn more and register at https://pdexpo.engineer/ Subscribe to the show to get notified so you don't miss new episodes every Friday. The Being An Engineer podcast is brought to you by Pipeline Design & Engineering. Pipeline partners with medical & other device engineering teams who need turnkey equipment like cycle test machines, custom test fixtures, automation equipment, ...
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  S7E29 Heylands Lowry| Building an Engineering Culture of Continuous Improvement 10.07.2026 39min

  Send us Fan Mail Heylands Lowry is a globally experienced continuous improvement and operational excellence leader with deep expertise in Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, and organizational transformation. Over the course of his career, he has helped companies across medical devices, aerospace, and manufacturing build sustainable systems that improve efficiency while strengthening culture and employee engagement. Known for his ability to connect with people at every level of an organization, He...
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  S7E28 Justin Rittenhouse | What Engineering School Doesn’t Teach You About Industry 03.07.2026 49min

  Send us Fan Mail Justin Rittenhouse is a mechanical engineer, educator, and industry leader whose career sits at the intersection of advanced engineering analysis, manufacturing innovation, and mentorship. With a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering and degrees in Aerospace Engineering, Justin has built a strong technical foundation in structural mechanics, computational methods, and advanced simulation tools such as FEA and DEM. His academic journey is complemented by hands-on expertise in progra...
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  S7E27 Daniel Kurnianto | The Engineering Journey Behind the World's First Electronic Coffee Tamper 26.06.2026 50min

  Send us Fan Mail Daniel Kurnianto has built his career at the intersection of mechatronics, lab automation, product management, and hands-on mechanical design. With more than 19 years at Formulatrix, he has led and contributed to the development of high-precision life science instruments, including crystallography and liquid-handling platforms used in research and pharmaceutical environments. His experience spans full product lifecycle work: concept development, detailed engineering, injectio...
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  S7E26 Paul Vizzio | From Prototype to Product: How Paul Vizzio Engineered RemieDog Into a Real Hardware Business 19.06.2026 40min

  Send us Fan Mail Paul Vizzio is a seasoned hardware engineering leader with deep expertise in building complex electromechanical systems and scaling them from early prototypes to full production. Currently serving as Director of Hardware Engineering at Proteus Motion, Paul led the end-to-end development of a patented 3D resistance training system that has been deployed in more than 400 locations across the U.S. and Canada. His leadership spanned the full product lifecycle—from system architec...
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  S7E25 Yesenia Avellaneda | Engineering, Medicine, and Manufacturing Leadership 12.06.2026 30min

  Send us Fan Mail Yesenia Avellaneda is an engineering leader whose career sits at the intersection of innovation, operations, and impact. Currently a Senior Project Engineer within Global Operations at Abbott, she has built a reputation for turning complex ideas into scalable, high-performing manufacturing systems. From leading New Product Introduction (NPI) efforts to executing international production transfers and launching entirely new facilities, Yesenia thrives where strategy meets exec...
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  S7E24 Larry Copponi | The Most Important Skill To Get Hired As An Engineer 05.06.2026 42min

  Send us Fan Mail For more than 40 years, Larry Copponi has been working at the intersection of engineering talent and product innovation. Today, he serves as Vice President of Staffing Solutions at Spanner Product Development, where he helps companies across industries assemble the engineering teams they need to bring complex products to life. Larry’s work spans sectors including consumer electronics, robotics, renewable energy, life sciences, and medical devices. His team specializes i...
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  S7E23 Jordan Kapitanoff | Screw Manufacturing, LEAN Processes, and Investing for Engineers 29.05.2026 52min

  Send us Fan Mail Jordan Kapitanoff is a mechanical engineer by training and a transformation leader by practice. A graduate of Kettering University with a BSME and an MBA from Aurora University, Jordan built his career at the intersection of engineering, operations, and culture change. Over the years, he has consistently stepped into roles where systems, teams, and processes needed elevation — and delivered measurable results. At Bison Gear & Engineering, Jordan moved from Applicati...
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  S7E22 Amelia Howe | Developing Medical Device Injectrodes for Pain Reduction, & Project Management Best Practices 22.05.2026 52min

  Send us Fan Mail Amelia Howe is a biomedical engineer and R&D project manager whose career spans startups, research labs, and established medical device companies. She currently leads cross-functional development programs at COLTENE, where she coordinates teams across engineering, quality, regulatory, and manufacturing to bring new medical devices from concept to international launch. Amelia’s journey into engineering began with a pivotal shift early in her academic career. While studying...
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  S7E21 Rod Scholl | Pro Tips from 30-Year Analyst For Accurate Simulations (FEA & CFD) 15.05.2026 48min

  Send us Fan Mail Rod Scholl is the Founder and Principal Analyst at Epsilon FEA, an engineering services company he launched in 2008 to specialize in advanced numerical analysis and simulation-driven problem solving. With nearly two decades at the helm, Rod has built Epsilon FEA into a trusted partner for companies tackling challenging structural, thermal, and dynamic performance problems across a wide range of industries. Before founding Epsilon FEA, Rod spent over a decade at PADT, Inc. as ...
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  S7E20 Mahantesh Hiremath | How to Influence Public Policy As An Engineer 08.05.2026 52min

  Send us Fan Mail Dr. Mahantesh Hiremath has built a rare engineering career at the intersection of deep technical rigor, systems thinking, leadership, and service. Across more than three decades, he has worked in space, energy, transportation, and infrastructure, and is recognized as one of the few engineers to have designed and analyzed complex systems in four very different environments: deep underground, offshore, on-ground, and in space. His academic background includes M.S. and Ph.D. deg...