Hardware Podcasts

Design and Engineering Shouldn't Be Separate Islands | Pensar, Tactile, Mathscaper, Vector7 | Rob Leonard

TRADEOFFS · 27 Jul 2026 · 1h 04m · Episode 15

What this episode covers

Rob Leonard, founder of Vector7 and former leader at Pensar and Tactile, discusses the critical trade-off of integrating industrial design with engineering, arguing they should not be separate islands. He details his journey from IT to hardware, highlighting how his work at Orb Optronics and NextLighting led to leadership roles at Pensar and Tactile, where he championed holistic product development. Leonard also shares insights on his current consultancy, Vector7, and his art practice, Mathscaper, which uses CNC machining to create mathematical sculptures.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies, companies scaling up and established companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Vector7, Pensar, Tactile, Orb Optronics, NextLighting, TerraBeam, Gloam Studios
Products
Mathscaper, Laced Golf, Microsoft Surface, Xbox
Tools
Claude

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