Being an Engineer

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Robert States is Vice President of Technical Services at Cormica Medical Device & Pharmaceutical Testing, where he supports clients across medical device, pharmaceutical, and combination product testing. His work spans development strategy, risk management, testing strategy, process development, supply chain optimization, and regulatory-minded technical problem solving. Cormica’s announcement of his appointment highlighted his role in strengthening global technical services across UK, US, and EU laboratories.  
Before joining Cormica, Rob spent more than 20 years at Stress Engineering Services, where he held leadership roles across medical device and pharma, consumer products, strategic client engagement, and consulting. Stress Engineering’s medical and pharmaceutical practice focuses on product design, analysis, testing, failure analysis, material science, packaging, manufacturing support, reliability, and regulatory-grade engineering solutions—areas that align closely with Rob’s career-long focus on helping organizations solve difficult technical and business problems.  
Rob’s technical foundation is in plastics engineering, supported by an MBA from Ashland University and a BS in Plastics Engineering from Penn State. Over his career, he has worked across companies including Procter & Gamble, Newell Brands, Stress Engineering Services, Accelitek, and now Cormica. His experience gives him a rare perspective that bridges hands-on engineering, product development, failure remediation, consulting, business strategy, and executive-level technical leadership. 
A central theme of this conversation is how engineers can thrive in corporate R&D environments. Rob wants to explore the intersection of budgeting, project success, layoffs, and business performance—and how engineers can use that understanding to make better decisions, protect their careers, and create more value for their organizations. Rather than treating corporate realities as distractions from engineering, Rob sees them as forces engineers can learn to understand and navigate. 
 
LINKS: 
Robert States LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/plasticpro/ 
Cormica Website: https://www.cormica.com/
Aaron Moncur, host 
PDX 2026 is October 20-21 in Phoenix, AZ.  Learn more and register at https://pdexpo.engineer/ 
Subscribe to the show to get notified so you don't miss new episodes every Friday.
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 like cycle test machines, custom test fixtures, automation equipment, assembly jigs, inspection stations and more. You can find us at www.teampipeline.us
Watch the show on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@TeamPipelineus

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Michael Brooks is the founder and CEO of BayCath Medical, a Silicon Valley medical-device company specializing in the design, development, and contract manufacturing of catheter-based products. BayCath was created to give startups and fast-moving R&D teams a more collaborative manufacturing partner—one capable of supporting rapid prototyping, iterative development, pilot production, and smoother transfers into manufacturing. 
Michael launched BayCath after seeing catheter development lead times grow and watching delays interfere with customer timelines. His vision is to create an environment where engineers, physicians, and manufacturing specialists can work closely together, explore multiple solutions, and make informed design decisions without wasting valuable time or capital. 
Before becoming a founder, Michael held program management, engineering, and manufacturing roles throughout the medical-device industry. Across those positions, he gained experience in braided and coiled catheters, material selection, process development, design for manufacturing, validation, manufacturing transfers, fixture development, supplier management, and regulatory support. He also led high-priority customer programs, helped establish project-management processes, and coordinated complex work across technical, operational, and customer-facing teams. 
Michael earned his bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from the University of California, Davis, along with a minor in technology management. His career has placed him at the intersection of hands-on engineering, customer communication, program leadership, and entrepreneurship—giving him a valuable perspective on what it takes to move medical-device ideas from early prototypes toward production and, ultimately, patient care. 
 
LINKS: 
Michael Brooks LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/micbrooks10/ 
BayCath Website: https://www.baycath.com/ 

Innovation Week: https://www.baycath.com/workshops 

MedTech Bay Area Networking LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/medtech-bay-area/ 

 Aaron Moncur, host 

PDX 2026 is October 20-21 in Phoenix, AZ.  Learn more and register at https://pdexpo.engineer/ 
Subscribe to the show to get notified so you don't miss new episodes every Friday.
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 like cycle test machines, custom test fixtures, automation equipment, assembly jigs, inspection stations and more. You can find us at www.teampipeline.us
Watch the show on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@TeamPipelineus

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Tony Kelbert is a mechanical engineer, manufacturing strategist, and Chief Burrito Officer at AeroGrowth, an organization focused on helping precision manufacturers pursue and win the right aerospace and defense work. Drawing on experience from both the OEM and supplier sides of the industry, Tony helps manufacturers better understand positioning, quoting, customer relationships, and the realities of selling into complex aerospace supply chains. 
Tony began his engineering career at a defense vehicle manufacturer, where he designed lightweight, durable components for severe-duty military vehicles, managed mass properties for a weight-sensitive program, and led a team of designers. He later spent several years at a major aerospace company, designing medical oxygen systems for transport aircraft and lightweight structural components for VIP aircraft interiors while serving as a liaison between engineering and manufacturing. 
His career eventually expanded beyond traditional product design. Tony moved into manufacturing business development, worked as a senior mechanical engineer at a product development firm, and became a venture advisor focused on manufacturing. These experiences gave him a broader view of how technical capabilities, customer selection, pricing, sales, and company culture affect the long-term health of a manufacturing business. 
Tony is also the managing partner of goodthink labs, where he uses engineering analysis, experiments, storytelling, and occasional unnecessary inventions to make technical subjects more engaging. He earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Minnesota and now brings together engineering experience, business strategy, curiosity, and humor to help manufacturers build businesses worth owning. 
LINKS: 
Tony Kelbert LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonykelbert 
Tony Kelbert website: https://aerogrowthllc.com/ 
Aaron Moncur, host 
PDX 2026 is October 20-21 in Phoenix, AZ.  Learn more and register at https://pdexpo.engineer/ 
Subscribe to the show to get notified so you don't miss new episodes every Friday.
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 like cycle test machines, custom test fixtures, automation equipment, assembly jigs, inspection stations and more. You can find us at www.teampipeline.us
Watch the show on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@TeamPipelineus

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Sam Thomason’s career sits at the intersection of technical sales, manufacturing automation, Japanese business culture, and advanced machining. With more than 14 years of experience in CNC machinery, factory automation, and industrial robotics, Sam has worked across the U.S., Japan, and Australia helping manufacturers evaluate and adopt technologies that improve productivity, safety, and competitiveness. 
He is currently National Sales Manager for Shibaura Machine Company, America’s Nano Processing division, where he is responsible for U.S. sales strategy and customer development around the UVM Series ultra-precision machining platforms. His work involves helping engineering, R&D, tooling, and executive teams define applications, validate processes, and qualify advanced nano-machining capabilities for industries such as optics, photonics, medical devices, semiconductor-adjacent manufacturing, and high-precision moldmaking. Shibaura describes the UVM Series as high-precision machining centers built around high-speed, high-quality machining with high-precision aerostatic bearing spindles, with applications in precision molds, automotive lighting, lenses, smartphone frames, LED packaging molds, and precision parts machining.  
Before joining Shibaura Machine, Sam held roles in automation, robotics, machine tools, and business development with organizations including Workr Labs, Yuasa International, Konica Minolta Australia, SE4, and TAKAMAZ. His early career included working in Japan as an application engineer and technical sales/cutting engineer at TAKAMAZ, giving him a practical foundation in CNC programming, machining applications, and communicating technical details across cultures.  
Sam’s background also includes robotics and teleoperation, including work with SE4 in Tokyo, where he helped demonstrate latency-resilient robotic teleoperation software and even supported a live international demo operating a dual-arm robot in Tokyo from Abu Dhabi despite more than 30 seconds of video lag. That experience gives him a broad perspective on where automation is headed, from industrial robotics to ultra-precision machining. 
For this conversation, Sam wants to focus on non-traditional machining topics such as non-machining, diamond turning, and hard milling. His perspective should be especially valuable for engineers who want to understand where conventional manufacturing assumptions break down, when ultra-precision equipment changes the process equation, and how technologies like diamond turning and hard milling can open new possibilities in optics, tooling, molds, medical components, and advanced manufacturing. 
 
LINKS: 
Sam Thomason LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-thomason/ 
Aaron Moncur, host 
PDX 2026 is October 20-21 in Phoenix, AZ.  Learn more and register at https://pdexpo.engineer/ 
Subscribe to the show to get notified so you don't miss new episodes every Friday.
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 like cycle test machines, custom test fixtures, automation equipment, assembly jigs, inspection stations and more. You can find us at www.teampipeline.us
Watch the show on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@TeamPipelineus

Send us Fan Mail
Steven Szymeczek joins the podcast to share a career shaped by curiosity, hands-on learning, and a willingness to explore new opportunities. He traces his path from taking apart gadgets as a child to manufacturing crop-duster components early in his career, designing aircraft interiors, and eventually launching his own product development business. 
Steven and Aaron discuss the realities of moving from engineering into entrepreneurship, including learning how to communicate with customers, build a dependable network of manufacturing partners, price projects appropriately, and avoid overextending yourself to win the wrong work. Steven also shares the story of an early product-development client whose invention eventually appeared on Shark Tank, along with the lessons he learned about translating an entrepreneur’s vision into a manufacturable product. 
The conversation also explores the rapid evolution of additive manufacturing, from the unreliable desktop printers of the early days to today’s fast, accessible systems. Steven explains the differences between technologies such as Multi Jet Fusion and selective laser sintering, why polymer powder-bed fusion is becoming more accessible, and how rapid prototyping enables engineers to fail early, learn quickly, and improve designs faster. 
Finally, Steven describes his work at Boise State University, where he teaches additive manufacturing and leads a product development lab that gives students experience working on real client projects. From 3D-printed combat robots to medical devices and entrepreneurial product concepts, Steven is helping the next generation of engineers build practical skills, embrace experimentation, and enter their careers with meaningful hands-on experience. 
 
LINKS: 
Steven Szymeczek LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-m-szymeczek-0a33608a/ 
Aaron Moncur, host 
PDX 2026 is October 20-21 in Phoenix, AZ.  Learn more and register at https://pdexpo.engineer/ 
Subscribe to the show to get notified so you don't miss new episodes every Friday.
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 like cycle test machines, custom test fixtures, automation equipment, assembly jigs, inspection stations and more. You can find us at www.teampipeline.us
Watch the show on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@TeamPipelineus