Being an Engineer

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Elad Einav is a mechanical engineer, entrepreneur, and Co-Founder and CEO of Medibrane, a medical-device contract development and manufacturing organization specializing in polymer covers, membranes, coatings, and components for stents and other implantable devices. His work sits at the intersection of mechanical design, polymer science, manufacturing-process development, quality, and medical-device commercialization. 
Elad began his career as a mechanical engineer before moving deeper into medical-device R&D, where he designed implants and delivery systems and later managed multidisciplinary programs from concept through commercialization. Over the years, he has founded or co-founded several medical-device companies and has worked across engineering, clinical development, manufacturing scale-up, and business leadership. 
At Medibrane, Elad works on an engineering challenge most product developers never get the opportunity to see firsthand: how the polymer covering of a stent is actually created and attached to the metal frame. A particularly important decision is whether ePTFE is joined through sintering or through an adhesive-assisted lamination process. Both approaches can result in a covered stent, but the manufacturing choice can influence adhesion, polymer microstructure, permeability, stiffness, crimp profile, fatigue behavior, delamination risk, and even the regulatory strategy for the finished device. 
Elad's perspective is that these manufacturing decisions need to happen much earlier in product development. The way a stent is covered isn't simply something to hand off to manufacturing after the mechanical design is complete. It's part of the design itself. In this conversation, we'll explore those tradeoffs, look at what engineers can learn from real-world failures, and discuss how design teams can better connect material selection, manufacturing processes, testing, and regulatory requirements from the beginning. 

LINKS: 
 Elad Einav LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eladeinav/ 
Medibrane website: https://www.medibrane.com/ 
Book 20 minutes with one of our covering engineers: https://www.medibrane.com/booking-calendar/rsvp-your-consultation 
 
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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PDX 2026 starts October 20 in Phoenix, AZ. Practical training for growth-minded engineers. 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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This episode of Being An Engineer takes a detour from engineering and onto the mats as Aaron sits down with Pipeline Design & Engineering Principal Controls Engineer and longtime Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner Matt Ketterer. 
With more than 20 years of BJJ experience and a second-degree black belt, Matt shares what initially drew him to the sport, the humbling experience of being a beginner, and how his approach to training has evolved over the years. Aaron and Matt discuss why technique can overcome strength, learning to stay calm in uncomfortable situations, dealing with injuries, narrowing your focus to accelerate learning, and the strong bonds that form between training partners. 
They also explore some of the bigger lessons that extend well beyond Jiu-Jitsu: checking your ego, becoming comfortable with struggle, focusing on what actually works, and continuing to learn even when you feel like you’re going backwards. Whether you train BJJ, are curious about martial arts, or simply enjoy conversations about mastery and personal growth, there’s plenty to take away from this one. 
LINKS: 
Matt Ketterer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewketterer/ 
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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Dakota Welker is a mechanical engineer, product developer, and founder of Think MedTek, an engineering consultancy focused on helping startups transform early-stage ideas into functional, manufacturable products. A Purdue University graduate with a background in engineering technology and organizational leadership, Dakota has worked across medical devices, industrial automation, pneumatic systems, and other forms of physical product development.  
Through Think MedTek, Dakota works closely with physician inventors, hardware founders, and growing product companies that need experienced mechanical leadership without immediately building a full internal engineering team. His work covers product design, CAD engineering, prototyping, design optimization, testing, and preparation for manufacturing and regulatory requirements.  
Dakota’s project experience includes leading a medical-device redesigns with validated improvements, developing a multidisciplinary nephrology prototype in 12 weeks, and designing surgical and prosthetic concepts that contributed to patent filings and grant opportunities. He has also taken over projects that stalled during previous vendor or freelancer engagements, helping clients improve both technical quality and development timelines. 
His approach is built around treating every prototype as though it could enter production in the near future. Rather than postponing manufacturability, documentation, supplier planning, and risk reduction, Dakota incorporates them throughout the development process. That philosophy allows startups to create prototypes that do more than demonstrate an idea—they support testing, fundraising, regulatory planning, and the eventual transition into production. Think MedTek similarly emphasizes rapid iteration, startup-conscious budgeting, and designing for real-world use from the beginning. 
LINKS: 
Dakota Welker LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dakota-welker-834453b0/ 
Think MedTek website: https://thinkmedtek.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

Send us Fan Mail
Elif Miskioğlu is an Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at Bucknell University and a scholar of engineering education. She holds a B.S. in Chemical and Biological Engineering with a genetics minor from Iowa State University, along with an M.S. and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from The Ohio State University. At Bucknell, she has taught courses including separations, senior design, technical and professional communication, mass and energy balances, and thermodynamics.  
Elif’s early technical research focused on bacterial biosensors capable of screening pesticides that target Anopheles gambiae, the mosquito species associated with malaria transmission. That work, combined with exposure to infectious disease and epidemiology, shaped her interest in the broader context surrounding engineering problems: who they affect, how solutions are used, and what engineers need to understand beyond the purely technical details. 
Today, Elif’s scholarship centers on how engineers develop from novices into experts, with a special focus on engineering intuition. Her work explores how engineers learn to judge whether a solution is reasonable, predict outcomes, make decisions under uncertainty, and connect formal analysis with experience-based judgment. In 2025, she received a five-year, $650,000 NSF CAREER Award for her project “It’s Not Sorcery, It’s Skill,” which investigates how professional and personal experiences shape the way engineers use intuition in practice.  
What makes Elif’s work especially relevant to practicing engineers is her commitment to bridging the gap between education theory and day-to-day engineering practice. She is not only studying how engineers think; she is working to help educators and industry leaders better cultivate the judgment, communication, and problem-solving habits that young engineers need to become effective professionals. 
 
LINKS: 
 Elif Miskioğlu LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elif-miskio%C4%9Flu-649b7135/ 
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