Hardware Podcasts

Antonio Valadez & Nate Post | Building Better Engineers Through Better Leadership

Being an Engineer · 11 Sept 2026 · 1h 06m · Episode 38

What this episode covers

Nate Post, Director of New Product Introduction at Edwards Lifesciences and founder of Blue Collar Blades, and Antonio (Tony) Valadez, founder of Nexcellence Engineering Solutions, discuss their mentor-mentee relationship and leadership philosophies within the medical device industry. They explore how Tony helped Nate refine his authentic leadership style rather than copying his own, emphasizing the importance of psychological safety, vulnerability, and shielding teams from upper-management stress during critical production phases. The conversation highlights specific decisions, such as shutting down a production line to fix procedural safety issues, and the value of providing constructive feedback that helps engineers grow without discouraging them.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies and companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Edwards Lifesciences, Blue Collar Blades, Nexcellence Engineering Solutions, Pipeline Design & Engineering

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