Skooks Pong - EEWeb

EEWeb PULSE INTERVIEW
How did you get
into engineering?
I have a pretty unconventional background.
My dad was always trying
to do his own thing and was very
entrepreneurial. I worked with him
quite a bit on his various projects,
so I remember learning how to use
a micrometer and a lathe when I was
around 8 years old.
While in high school in the early 80s,
my dad started a company that developed
a small lightweight aircraft
engine, so I started working with him
pretty much full-time. I had a number
of different interests, especially mechanical
projects, so I got into motorcycle
racing and started raising
money to build some of my own stuff.
Eventually, I wound up in the bicycle
business, running my own shop for
a few years, as well as working with
Cannondale.
During that time, I met one of the
founders of Synapse. As time went
on, I was less interested in running
my own shop and managing all the
other things that go into owning a
“We’re okay with
not being the designers—we’reengineers
and we’re
proud to be engineers,
so we like
solving hard engineering
problems.
business. A couple engineers that
I met through Cannondale moved
out west and started working for a
design firm here in Seattle. With their
encouragement I jumped into the consulting
arena and I’ve been doing it
ever since.
How would you describe the
team at Synapse?
Synapse is a multidisciplinary engineering
firm. We combine mechanical,
electrical, software engineering,
project management, and manufacturing
support to build collaborative
teams helping some of the world’s
leading companies fully realize—
from idea to reality—new technology,
devices, and experiences. There are
a little over 250 employees here. We
are based in Seattle, Washington, and
also have offices in San Fransisco,
California, and Hong KongWith small
design firms, a lot of time is spent innovating
on the front end of product
development and dabbling a bit with
industrial design, as well as supporting
products after they launch. We’re
okay with not being the designers—
we’re engineers and we’re proud to
be engineers, so we like solving hard
engineering problems. The more the
project involves the full range of our
capabilities, the more
we like it. With engineering
at the core
of those capabilities,
I think it really helps
create a strong focus
for our business.
Synapse has been
around for 10 years.
When the company
was originally founded,
we just wanted to
work with our friends
on really interesting
and challenging
projects. Over the
last decade, we’ve
evolved to better address our clients’
strategic needs. Companies are wanting
to introduce ambitious devices as
consumers demand more and more
innovative products. As our clients
respond to these transformations, we
expanded our services to include full
end-to-end consultation capabilities
in order to guide them through a successful
development process.
What type of clients
does Synapse have?
We work on a variety of things.
When we first started, we did a lot
of lab automation for companies like
CombiMatrix, Ekos, and others in
Synapster (sin•âp•ster)
n. A person or animal which works for
Synapse Product Development.
Ex. I’m so jealous of those synapsters; they have
the best jobs ever.
Source: The Urban Dictionary
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