S5E7 Matt Zachek | Medical Device Engineering Leaders 7

Being an Engineer

Matt discusses his career path in medical device engineering and leadership insights. He shares how he developed a passion for understanding how things work from a young age and pursued biomedical engineering. Matt discusses developing grit and perseverance, managing stress and ambiguity in leadership roles, and balancing sustaining vs. new products.

Main Topics:

• Engineering career path
• Leadership skills
• Managing stress and anxiety
• Medical device challenges
• Innovation strategies
• Balancing existing vs. new products
• Integrating manufacturing earlier in design.

About the guest: Matt Zachek holds a Bachelor’s degree and PhD in biomedical engineering and is currently the Sr Director of R&D at Werfen, leaders in specialized diagnostics in the areas of Hemostasis, Acute Care Diagnostics, Transfusion, Autoimmunity, and Transplant. Skilled in product roadmapping, stakeholder management, and product delivery in the medical device, pharmaceutical and diagnostic device spaces, Matt is a strategic thinker with a passion for bringing new ideas to life and a talent for fostering a culture of collaboration and creativity.

Links:
Matt Zachek - LinkedIn
About Being An Engineer

The Being An Engineer podcast is a repository for industry knowledge and a tool through which engineers learn about and connect with relevant companies, technologies, people resources, and opportunities. We feature successful mechanical engineers and interview engineers who are passionate about their work and who made a great impact on the engineering community.

The Being An Engineer podcast is brought to you by Pipeline Design & Engineering. Pipeline partners with medical & other device engineering teams who need turnkey equipment such as cycle test machines, custom test fixtures, automation equipment, assembly jigs, inspection stations and more. You can find us on the web at www.teampipeline.us

Capitole

1. Engineering career path and developing passion from a young age (00:00:00)

2. Deciding to study biomedical engineering and pursue medical field (00:01:28)

3. Fun memory taking apart a VCR as a kid (00:02:24)

4. Developing technical skills and diverse experience to progress in career (00:04:02)

5. Importance of grit, perseverance and routines for developing leadership skills (00:07:46)

6. Perspective on imposter syndrome and managing ambiguity in leadership (00:11:02)

7. Shifting from positive attitude to productive action for managing stress (00:15:26)

8. Trends in medical device manufacturing like 3D printing and robotics (00:19:21)

9. Technical and communication skills important for engineering success (00:21:27)

10. Need for empathy and understanding various perspectives in product development (00:23:34)

11. Regulatory and supply chain challenges facing medical device industry (00:31:24)

12. Potential of AI like Gemini to dramatically increase engineering productivity (00:34:55)