What do you do?

As a product design engineer, I'm in charge of designing any new products we roll out to industry. Specifically, we work with surface control systems.

To simplify it, think about oil as a shaken-up soda bottle. You have pressure built within the Coke, and if you were to open up the lid, you would have a mess all over the place. We develop systems with certain tank and pipes that will control the pressure of the fluid coming out of the ground, so that you don't have a mess or spill.

I design new products to address these challenges, or modify existing ones to stay current with the latest technologies emerging in the oil industry.

As a product design engineer, my role with this specific product involves choosing and implementing the right materials to make sure it can withstand the required system pressure. I also make sure that the product's dimensions fit its intended space and that the design prioritizes operator safety. Safety is a big focus in the oil industry. There are still a lot of malfunctions in pipes or products that can lead to serious incidents.

Before moving to 3D model design, a good amount of conceptual work is done. As a product design engineer, I’m in charge of creating a detailed 3D model of the entire product using a software called SolidWorks, a 3D CAD modeling tool. This software allows us to visualize the product and identify potential issues with component fit before any physical build begins.

Another part of my role is to identify components that, based on my knowledge, could present a safety risk, fail, or cause damage. We then go into further analysis of these components using a process called finite element analysis. This involves running computer simulations to apply forces as they would be applied out in the field. We use computational math to make sure nothing will break.

How did you learn the skillset for this role?

A lot of engineers don’t end up in the field they study. However, my position is very mechanically inclined. What I learned in school, I’m getting to apply.

In school, I took math classes right away. All that math develops a way of thinking. It’s not necessarily the math itself that you apply to the job, it’s that it develops your mind to think in a procedural way.

After you take math, you go into materials courses. You start with a class called statics, where you learn to do math with different forces on objects. Then, you start looking into dynamics, which is forces acting on moving objects. You never stop doing math through your engineering path.

The courses I took in college helped me develop the skill set to be able to do what I do now. More than just being able to do math or calculus, the work develops the way you think about problems, which is why I think there’s a big connection as to why a lot of engineers don’t end up in just the engineering field. They’re seen as problem solvers.

I was lucky with my capstone project. A lot of capstone projects focus on improving processes or working with valves for oil and gas companies. My group was the only one working on surfboards. Our goal was to make the boards lighter, stronger, and more attractive to customers. It was a highly multidisciplinary project. I had the opportunity to contribute to the design, 3D print parts, and even conduct market analysis from a business perspective. This experience also introduced me to project management.

One thing among engineers is our focus on questions like, "How sturdy can I make this table?" We don't realize that in making something withstand anything, we might end up designing a table that costs a thousand dollars to make. This can cause us to lose sight of the business side of things - which is important for the company - because we’re focusing more on the integrity of the product.

My capstone project helped me with project management and the multidisciplinary aspects of what makes a company run. My current boss encourages me to take full ownership of my projects, which means scoping everything out, working with vendors, manufacturing, product lines, sales, and operations. Not everyone gets to do that. My boss once pointed out that many engineers get projects "through the curtain"—which means they get handed a project without having any information of where it’s going. It's like being told, "We need this table," and then they just design it and toss it back through the curtain.

I have the opportunity to see the big picture, from the moment we bring up the idea to manufacturing and final deployment to our clients.

What did you learn on the job?

The biggest thing I’ve learned on the job is the difference between theory and design - what you expect to work versus how it actually performs in real-life applications. For example, I might design a frame, calculate that it’ll bear a certain amount of weight, and assume that it’ll hold up just fine.

The reality is that the frame will be put in an environment where it’s 150 degrees, people are careless, machinery is constantly moving around it, and it’ll get hit and damaged. Under these conditions, the original design would only last two weeks. I’ve learned that I have to get hands on, visually inspect the product, or visit the area where it will be used in order to fully understand the challenges it’ll face.

What difficult decisions have you had to make in your role?

As a design engineer, you’re always faced with difficult decisions because you’re responsible for everything - from ordering materials to handling the budget. At the moment, I’m the only product design engineer at my company, so anything that gets created, manufactured, or updated is entirely on me.

One of the toughest challenges I’ve faced recently is the need to confidently stand up to someone who questions why I made certain decisions. In school, you don’t learn to defend yourself in that way because you’re just working on assignments to turn in, and your teacher isn’t going to challenge you since it’s just your grade on the line. But in the workplace, you have to be ready to stand up for and justify the choices you make.

What made you choose engineering? Did you feel like you had the natural skills for it?

Engineering didn’t come naturally to me. I would say very few people truly grasp it easily. I took a class with about 60 to 70 students, and only 8 to 10 of them passed. The rest of us had to retake it. For the 10-20% of students who naturally get the coursework, it seemed effortless. The rest of us were spending six to seven hours in the lab, working on a five-problem homework assignment, just trying to figure out what the heck was going on.

Before I was about to start school at community college, my family and I went down to Houston to visit some friends. One of them was an engineer, and his wife was very nice, but if she sees your potential, she’ll be straightforward with you. She had a conversation with me that changed my path.

We arrived on a Wednesday, and I was set to start school the following Monday. On Thursday night, she asked me what I planned to study. I had already enrolled in classes for film production. She said that engineering - especially mechanical engineering - would be better to pursue because it’s so broad and in demand. I was taken back, thinking, “Engineering, really?” My parents had mentioned it before, so I felt the pressure. But I loved video and film production. I also enjoyed math. She encouraged me by saying that engineering would provide a good foundation, and I could still do video and photography on the side. I took her advice.

On Friday morning, I called the school, spoke with my counselor, and completely changed my schedule. I switched from courses like video production and biology, to chemistry and trigonometry. I stuck with it, even though it was challenging, and it turned out to be worth it. I like where I am now. Along the way, I’ve been able to pursue video and photography projects on the side and grow in that area as well. My engineering career has helped me develop persistence and a solution-oriented mindset.

I consider myself an optimistic person. I hate focusing on negatives because it doesn’t accomplish anything. When you combine that mindset with the hours of homework that engineering requires, it develops a sense that nothing is truly impossible. Whatever you want to do, you just have to find a way to make it happen.

This connects to the first project I worked on, where I had to find a way to make it work. I had designed certain parts that I considered mockups. The next thing I know, my boss said, “Okay, we’re taking those designs and getting them machined.” I was caught off guard, thinking, “Shoot, I was just drawing them.”

They conducted pressure analysis to make sure everything worked correctly, and now those parts are actually in use. This experience gave me a sense of ownership over my work, and the encouragement to understand that there are no limits to what I can achieve.

What motivates you?

I’ve always been driven. When you really analyze the moments when you’re tempted to give up, you’ll realize that it’s all in your mind. The best thing you can do is sit down, break the problem apart, and chill out, even if it takes you longer than you’d like.

There were courses I had to retake, not because I failed them, but because they built up to the next course. For example, with calculus, I knew I couldn’t move on to Calc 2 with just a C, especially when I barely understood the material. So I audited another class over the summer. I always had the mentality of putting in extra effort.

My mom was always supportive. She never pressured me. Instead, she encouraged me by saying, “This will be good for you. You can take a class and if you fail, you can take it again the next semester.” I had no intention to switch my major or choose another path, even when certain classes got really rocky. I just kept at it, doing things over and over until they clicked. I never thought about an alternative, and that determination kept me motivated, even when things got hard.

There was a time when I got so frustrated that I left class, went to my car, and teared up. But the next day, I came back. I went to tutoring and spoke to my teacher about my struggles. Eventually, it all clicked, and I was finally able to solve the problems.

What was your internship like?

My internship leaned more toward industrial engineering than mechanical. It centered on optimizing processes and improving efficiency. A major aspect of the role involved organizing data in a way that was clear and accessible across different departments in the company.

I know many people jump into full-time jobs right after college, but I wasn’t sure which field I wanted to go into. Instead of looking for full-time work, I applied to an internship to get my feet wet in the industry. Waiting until after graduation to do an internship was one of the best decisions I’ve made. I didn’t think it was smart to commit to a full-time job without knowing if I would like it.

The internship really helped me understand what the industry is like. If I had approached projects and processes in a full-time job the way I did before the internship, I would have been pretty screwed. It was a huge benefit in helping me attack my full-time job decision more professionally, and learn what skills are needed for success.

Where do you see yourself in the future?

My passion lies in video production and photography. Lately, my growth in this field has shifted more towards the management side rather than hands-on filming - I’m now more focused on developing stories to capture rather than being behind the camera. If my photography business keeps growing as it has, I see myself relying on it fully - not just running my own video and film production, but also providing opportunities for others who have an interest in the field. I want to teach them essential skills like client management and relationship building.

How do you think your engineering background contributed to this and other aspects of your life?

As cliché as it sounds, it’s about having a “nothing is impossible” mindset. It’s one thing to say that to yourself, but it’s entirely different when you’re literally about to quit on something. In those moments, when you tell yourself “I’m pushing through this”, that’s when you truly start to develop that mindset.

From a technical standpoint, it’s about being able to set up an Excel spreadsheet with metrics and data. Beyond that, it’s about analyzing that data - creating graphs and tables to predict future outcomes for your business based on previous jobs or customer data. You might ask, “How did I change from one job to another? Where did I expense more money, and why?” There’s always a deeper reason behind why something happens, and that’s where the engineering mindset comes in. Understanding why something broke or bent, and applying root cause analysis across the board, is key.

Engineering develops a structured thought process. You’re able to sit down, trace the origins of an issue, and figure out the next step.