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Joe Moak shares his experience with the podcast working at high-profile companies such as Apple & Sonos, and also gives us a glimpse into “the best place he has ever worked” (Maestro PD). Companies are always looking for those elusive “A” players to join their teams, and it is very clear that Joe qualifies under that definition. Check out this wide-ranging discussion from what makes a good project manager to maintaining design focus to innovative tools for your office.
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.
Premium Quality
With the proliferation of products in the market claiming to be of premium quality, Joe ensures shares how you can ensure clients that your products are genuine. More than this, he says that a product is of premium quality if it is made with extra care and can provide the best user experience. He also shares his experience working with Apple TV, where specific addition of details led to a better customer interaction with the product.
“The big idea behind premium is it's the things that customers care about and then it doesn't necessarily always mean high cost. It just means that we're paying attention to those important details.” - Joe Moak
Working at Apple
Apple had been a great stepping stone for Joe in his career. He became more effective in recruiting, prioritizing, collaborating, and creating products. He shares that since Apple is composed of highly talented individuals, he pressured himself to be at the same level. On top of that, Apple taught him the value of prioritization which has been helpful in his succeeding engineering jobs and while he was building his company, Maestro.
“One of the interesting things about working at Apple is we have subject matter experts for anything. If you name a thing we could either find the best or engineer the best instantiation of that thing at that time which was really cool. The trick that I have found is through prioritization, figure out what it is about this product that really matters most to customers, and then figure out who you need to bring in or what expertise you need on the team.” - Joe Moak
Superior Project Management
Joe believes that the performance of a team doesn’t depend on size, but on whether the members have a clear direction of what needs to be done. That said, he is very specific with people he lets on his team and follows two criteria in selecting people: collaborative spirit and can apply engineering fundamentals to solve real engineering problems. In addition, a good project manager can also be a great help for the team in making work more efficient.
“I think the common thread is that each person on the team has to have a clear direction on what it is they need to be doing. They understand the higher level product goal, they're all shooting toward the same Northstar.” - Joe Moak
To learn more about Joe Moak, listen to this podcast.
Links:
Joe Moak
Maestro PD
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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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