# S1E19 Mentors, Ego, and Vulnerability | Trey Bobo

- Show: [Being an Engineer](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer)
- Published: 2020-07-03
- Length: 45m
- Episode: 19
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2020-07-03-s1e19-mentors-ego-and-vulnerability-trey-bobo

## Summary

Trey Bobo, Senior Manager of R&D at Edwards Lifesciences, discusses his journey from biology and chemistry to engineering, emphasizing the importance of field experience in designing medical devices like transcatheter heart valves and traumatic brain injury monitors. He explains how working directly in clinical settings humanized his engineering perspective, leading him to prioritize mentorship, vulnerability, and ego management within his teams. Bobo highlights the ongoing technical challenge of creating accurate phantom anatomy for testing complex catheters, noting that current simulation models remain rough despite advances in materials science.

## Chapters

- [0:13](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2020-07-03-s1e19-mentors-ego-and-vulnerability-trey-bobo#t=13) Introduction: Trey Bobo and Edwards Lifesciences
- [2:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2020-07-03-s1e19-mentors-ego-and-vulnerability-trey-bobo#t=120) Educational Path: Biology, Chemistry, and Engineering Degrees
- [6:11](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2020-07-03-s1e19-mentors-ego-and-vulnerability-trey-bobo#t=371) Career Strategy: Taking Pay Cuts for Broader Experience
- [11:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2020-07-03-s1e19-mentors-ego-and-vulnerability-trey-bobo#t=666) Field Experience: Traumatic Brain Injury and Heart Valve Devices
- [17:20](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2020-07-03-s1e19-mentors-ego-and-vulnerability-trey-bobo#t=1040) Humanizing Engineering: Clinical Case Observations
- [20:50](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2020-07-03-s1e19-mentors-ego-and-vulnerability-trey-bobo#t=1250) Managing Bureaucracy and Ego through Mentorship
- [27:39](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2020-07-03-s1e19-mentors-ego-and-vulnerability-trey-bobo#t=1659) Vulnerability and Leadership: Admitting Mistakes
- [34:48](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2020-07-03-s1e19-mentors-ego-and-vulnerability-trey-bobo#t=2088) Day-to-Day R&D Management and Team Dynamics
- [38:35](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2020-07-03-s1e19-mentors-ego-and-vulnerability-trey-bobo#t=2315) Technical Challenge: Phantom Anatomy for Catheter Testing

## Topics

- [Medical & health devices](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/medical-devices)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)
- [Prototyping & iteration](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/prototyping)
- [Careers & education](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/engineering-careers-and-education)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Edwards Lifesciences (company)
- Sapiens three (product)
- Pipeline Design & Engineering (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [005 - “Compassionate Product Development” with Cameron Jones](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/lets-combinate/2021-11-03-005-compassionate-product-development-with-cameron-jones) (Let's Combinate)
- [305: Humans Have a Terrible Spec Sheet (Repeat)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2022-04-28-305-humans-have-a-terrible-spec-sheet-repeat) (Embedded.fm)
- [009 - “Cutting Through the Noise” with Charles Ventura](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/lets-combinate/2021-12-01-009-cutting-through-the-noise-with-charles-ventura) (Let's Combinate)
- [007 - "Beyond The Obvious" with Miiri Kotche](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/lets-combinate/2021-11-17-007-beyond-the-obvious-with-miiri-kotche) (Let's Combinate)
- [#442: MedTech Leadership: Vulnerability & The CEC Framework with Dr. Jenny Hoffmann](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/global-medical-device-podcast/2026-01-19-442-medtech-leadership-vulnerability-the-cec-framework-with-dr-jenny-hoffmann) (Global Medical Device Podcast)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2020-07-03-s1e19-mentors-ego-and-vulnerability-trey-bobo. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Being an Engineer.