S1E01 A Thirst for Learning. Became an engineer 20 years after graduating | Michael Hadley

Being an Engineer · 20 Apr 2020 · 45m · Episode 1

What this episode covers

Michael Hadley, Engineering Manager at Pipeline Design & Engineering, shares his unconventional career path, which includes a 20-year hiatus for work in the human development movement and as Tony Robbins' business manager. He discusses his return to mechanical engineering, highlighting a successful medical device project involving a biocompatible bite block and airway, and a failed solar dish project that taught him the importance of market timing and product-market fit. Hadley advises engineers to cultivate broad, interdisciplinary knowledge rather than narrow specialization to remain valuable in smaller companies.

Mentioned

Companies
Pipeline Design & Engineering
Materials
PTFE
Also
Tony Robbins, Vanderbilt

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • Embedded.fm · 43m

    21: The Tent Is Flat and Everyone Is Wet

    Rob Mitchell, recently transitioned from systems engineering to management at Lightro, discusses his unconventional career path from technician to manager at companies like LeapFrog, Palm, and Validus. He details the challenges of writing performance reviews for senior engineers and the difficulty of shifting from peer to boss, particularly with former colleagues like Phil King. Mitchell emphasizes the importance of product management, hard deadlines in consumer hardware, and leveraging professional networks over formal degrees for career advancement.

  • Embedded.fm · 1h 04m

    305: Humans Have a Terrible Spec Sheet

    Amanda Wozniak, a principal engineer at Amazon Robotics with a background at Analog Devices, the Wyss Institute at Harvard, and NxStage, discusses her career path from semiconductor design to biomedical engineering and robotics. She explains the critical gap between academic theory and practical engineering, highlighting how parasitics and non-ideal component behavior often cause circuit failures that textbooks ignore. Wozniak also details the challenges of navigating FDA regulatory processes for medical devices and the importance of establishing robust quality systems early to avoid bureaucratic busywork. Finally, she addresses the realities of being a woman in tech, offering advice on handling sexism, avoiding burnout, and recognizing that engineering is fundamentally a team sport rather than a solo endeavor.

  • Global Medical Device Podcast · 39m

    How Being Strategic During A Career Transition Can Yield The Best Opportunities

    Aaron Moncur, owner of Pipeline Design & Engineering, joins host John Spear to discuss his transition from employee to entrepreneur after being laid off in 2009. Moncur explains how he narrowed his firm's focus to custom test fixtures and automated equipment for medical device companies, citing a client's improvement in Measurement Systems Analysis (MSA) first-pass success rates from 50% to nearly 100% as a key value proposition. The conversation covers the psychological aspects of career changes, the importance of mentorship through organizations like Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO), and the technical challenges of delivering complex engineering projects on tight schedules.

  • Let's Combinate · 1h 29m

    001 - “Learning Never Exhausts the Mind” with Rick Doe

    Rick Doe, a biomedical engineer with a career spanning large medical device companies, discusses his journey from poverty to leading roles in manufacturing and operations. He details his strategy for career development, emphasizing the use of rotational programs to gain perspective and the importance of aligning personal growth with professional choices. Doe shares advice on navigating corporate structures, managing passion ebbs and flows, and the critical role of mentorship in building a successful engineering career.

  • TRADEOFFS · 48m

    T-24-004 : Tom George - Hardware Startup Engineer to Google Product Lead

    Tom George, now a Product Team Lead at Google leading the Pebble initiative, recounts his journey from early hardware startups like Maritime Broadband and QuadLogic to his current role in Sustainable Cities. He details the engineering trade-offs of building satellite communication systems for cargo ships, including the failure of using commercial stepper motors in marine environments, and the organizational challenges of separating R&D from sustaining engineering at QuadLogic. George explains his decision to halt production at Sidewalk Labs when the Pebble sensor was not ready for scale, and his subsequent pivot at Google away from hardware manufacturing toward policy and urban planning solutions.

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by Being an Engineer. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.