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

- Show: [Being an Engineer](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer)
- Published: 2026-09-11
- Length: 1h 06m
- Episode: 38
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2026-09-11-antonio-valadez-nate-post-building-better-engineers-through-better-leadership

## Summary

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.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2026-09-11-antonio-valadez-nate-post-building-better-engineers-through-better-leadership#t=0) Introduction: Nate Post and Tony Valadez
- [2:34](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2026-09-11-antonio-valadez-nate-post-building-better-engineers-through-better-leadership#t=154) Tony Valadez's early influences and career path
- [5:07](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2026-09-11-antonio-valadez-nate-post-building-better-engineers-through-better-leadership#t=307) Nate Post and Tony Valadez's working history at Company A and B
- [11:17](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2026-09-11-antonio-valadez-nate-post-building-better-engineers-through-better-leadership#t=677) Tony Valadez's intuitive leadership and recognizing potential
- [14:17](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2026-09-11-antonio-valadez-nate-post-building-better-engineers-through-better-leadership#t=857) The cleanroom speech and refining Nate's leadership style
- [24:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2026-09-11-antonio-valadez-nate-post-building-better-engineers-through-better-leadership#t=1440) Aaron Moncur's definition of a leader as a guide who loves
- [35:59](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2026-09-11-antonio-valadez-nate-post-building-better-engineers-through-better-leadership#t=2159) Providing feedback and managing behavior in engineers
- [42:03](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2026-09-11-antonio-valadez-nate-post-building-better-engineers-through-better-leadership#t=2523) Shielding teams from stress and establishing purpose
- [49:19](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2026-09-11-antonio-valadez-nate-post-building-better-engineers-through-better-leadership#t=2959) Stories on psychological safety, vulnerability, and culture
- [1:01:22](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2026-09-11-antonio-valadez-nate-post-building-better-engineers-through-better-leadership#t=3682) Nexcellence Engineering Solutions and Blue Collar Blades

## Topics

- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)
- [Careers & education](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/engineering-careers-and-education)
- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies, companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Edwards Lifesciences (company)
- Blue Collar Blades (company)
- Nexcellence Engineering Solutions (company)
- Pipeline Design & Engineering (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [386: Not Managing Robots](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2021-09-02-386-not-managing-robots) (Embedded.fm)
- [Greatest Hits: Top 3 Leadership Lessons from Manufacturing Happy Hour](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2021-05-11-greatest-hits-top-3-leadership-lessons-from-manufacturing-happy-hour) (Manufacturing Happy Hour)
- [Creating Manufacturing Environments Where Engineers Can Thrive w/ Josh Tarbutton](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2025-12-02-creating-manufacturing-environments-where-engineers-can-thrive-w-josh-tarbutton) (The Manufacturing Executive)
- [How Soft Skills Drive High-Impact Engineering Teams w/ Aaron Moncur](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2025-08-26-how-soft-skills-drive-high-impact-engineering-teams-w-aaron-moncur) (The Manufacturing Executive)
- [Live From The HIBT Summit: Cynt Marshall, Chieh Huang, and Sadie Lincoln on Leadership](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-06-24-live-from-the-hibt-summit-cynt-marshall-chieh-huang-and-sadie-lincoln-on-leaders) (How I Built This)

## Citing this page

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