# S2E10 Working Long, Hard Hours & Finding A Way | Paxson Matthews

- Show: [Being an Engineer](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer)
- Published: 2021-02-26
- Length: 53m
- Episode: 10
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2021-02-26-s2e10-working-long-hard-hours-finding-a-way-paxson-matthews

## Summary

Paxson Matthews, a mechanical engineer and current freelancer, discusses his journey from losing his hearing at age 19 to working in medical devices, aviation, and consumer products. He details how he adapted to deafness by learning American Sign Language and using live captioning, which shaped his rigorous work ethic and problem-solving approach. Matthews shares specific engineering challenges, including fixing broken commercial fishing gear in Alaska, designing a sensory substitution device for Smart Mouth Technology, and resolving fastener alignment issues at Ventana Medical Systems using geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T).

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2021-02-26-s2e10-working-long-hard-hours-finding-a-way-paxson-matthews#t=0) Introduction: Paxson Matthews and his background
- [2:13](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2021-02-26-s2e10-working-long-hard-hours-finding-a-way-paxson-matthews#t=133) Growing up in Alaska and switching from biology to mechanical engineering
- [11:51](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2021-02-26-s2e10-working-long-hard-hours-finding-a-way-paxson-matthews#t=711) Losing his hearing at 19 and learning American Sign Language
- [19:44](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2021-02-26-s2e10-working-long-hard-hours-finding-a-way-paxson-matthews#t=1184) Commercial fishing experiences and creative problem solving on boats
- [26:04](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2021-02-26-s2e10-working-long-hard-hours-finding-a-way-paxson-matthews#t=1564) Smart Mouth Technology: Sensory substitution device design
- [32:44](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2021-02-26-s2e10-working-long-hard-hours-finding-a-way-paxson-matthews#t=1964) Work ethic, scheduling, and time management as an aircraft mechanic
- [38:53](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2021-02-26-s2e10-working-long-hard-hours-finding-a-way-paxson-matthews#t=2333) Ventana Medical Systems: Solving fastener alignment with GD&T
- [43:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2021-02-26-s2e10-working-long-hard-hours-finding-a-way-paxson-matthews#t=2586) Transitioning to freelancing and current projects like Aramid

## Topics

- [Mechanical engineering](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/mechanical-engineering)
- [Careers & education](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/engineering-careers-and-education)
- [Materials & manufacturing processes](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/materials-and-processes)
- [PCB design & layout](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pcb-design)
- [Sustainability & circular products](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sustainability-and-circularity)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Pipeline Design & Engineering (company)
- Smart Mouth Technology (product)
- Ventana Medical Systems (company)
- Onshape (tool)
- SolidWorks (tool)
- Tech Geeks (company)
- Aramid (product)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Inside Samantha Johnson's quest to build robots for deafblind people](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2022-11-11-inside-samantha-johnsons-quest-to-build-robots-for-deafblind-people) (The Robot Report Podcast)
- [360: That’s not very maker-y of you, is it?](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2022-07-01-360-thats-not-very-maker-y-of-you-is-it) (Making It)
- [486: If I Had $300, I Could Do That Too](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2025-06-16-486-if-i-had-300-i-could-do-that-too) (Making It)
- [Why We’re Proud to Be Manufacturers & Engineers](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2021-08-03-why-were-proud-to-be-manufacturers-engineers) (The Manufacturing Executive)
- [444: It Is If You Do It Wrong](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2023-03-03-444-it-is-if-you-do-it-wrong) (Embedded.fm)

## Citing this page

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