S7E13 Brad & Aaron | How To Accelerate The Speed of Engineering (Episode 2 of 3)

Being an Engineer · 20 Mar 2026 · 53m · Episode 13

What this episode covers

Aaron Moncur and Brad Hirayama of Pipeline Design & Engineering discuss seven workflow strategies to accelerate engineering teams from idea to validation, drawing on patterns from 300+ interviews. They emphasize defining requirements early to avoid over-engineering, using rapid prototyping (including 3D printing and crude mockups) to fail fast, and conducting rigorous design reviews to catch manufacturing issues before production. The hosts also advocate for using checklists to ensure consistency, testing options in parallel to save time, involving manufacturing early for DFM, and centralizing project data to reduce search time.

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

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    149: How to Professionally Prototype your Invention Idea

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  • How Soft Skills Drive High-Impact Engineering Teams w/ Aaron Moncur

    Aaron Moncur, founder of Pipeline Design & Engineering, discusses how soft skills like communication and psychological safety drive high-performing engineering teams. He shares specific management strategies, such as 'managing by invitation' and removing bureaucratic barriers to accelerate engineering speed, including the strategic use of 3D printing. Moncur also highlights the evolving landscape of engineering education, promoting his platform The Wave and the PDX expo as alternatives to traditional degree requirements.

  • NPI Sherpa · 23m

    DeepDive 1-on-1 Series: MAPPING THE ROUTE - Path to the Summit (20m32s)

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  • Product Startup · 35m

    082: Smooth Product Flow from Visual Design to Engineering

    Robert Irwin, former Lead Industrial Designer at Amazon for the Amazon Dash Cart, explains how industrial design and mechanical engineering teams can collaborate effectively to avoid costly rework. He advocates for an early, iterative 'ping pong' process where engineers and designers brainstorm constraints and user needs simultaneously, rather than passing work linearly 'over the fence.' Irwin emphasizes that dedicated project management and frequent stakeholder communication are essential to aligning technical feasibility with customer value before tooling begins.

  • The Hardware Entrepreneur · 36m

    #027 - Rapid prototyping - a platform and its essential tools, with Finbarr Watterson of Fictiv, USA

    Finbarr Watterson, Hardware Community Evangelist at Fictiv, explains how the company uses a distributed manufacturing model to provide rapid 3D printing and CNC machining services for hardware prototyping. He details Fictiv's origin story, where founders Nate and Dave Evans bootstrapped the business by fulfilling orders from their kitchen before raising seed and Series A funding. The discussion covers the strategic advantage of iterating in the US before scaling to mass manufacturing in China, using Lockitron as a case study for avoiding early inventory mistakes.

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