S5E10 Derek Pietz | Industrial Automation, Losing A Million Dollars, & Successful Startups
03/08/24 • 38 min
Derek Pietz shares his journey from engineering student to co-founding a successful automation startup and his current role leading engineering teams at Intuitive. He discusses the challenges of starting a company, lessons learned, and trends in the automation industry.
Main Topics:
- Engineering career path
- Founding and growing a startup
- Challenges and pivots
- Prioritizing work/life balance
- Designing robotic surgery equipment
- Improving team morale
- Communication best practices
- Future of AI and vision systems in automation
About the guest: Our guest today is Derek Pietz, the Director of Automation Equipment and Test Engineering at Intuitive, a trailblazing company at the forefront of robotic-assisted surgery. Prior to his role at Intuitive, Derek has been a part of four start-up ventures including one as a co-founder. He has built and led engineering and operations teams, designed machines, run a P/L, pitched investors, obsessed over supply chain, developed sales strategies, taught robots to make pizza and fixed customer problems.
Links:
Derek Pietz - LinkedIn
Intuitive website
🚀 Join Us at PDX 2025! 🚀
PDX 2025 is the Product Development Expo designed for engineers who want hands-on training from industry experts. PDX focuses on practical skill-building, cutting-edge tools, and real-world solutions.
📅 October 21-22, 2025
📍 Mesa Convention Center, AZ
🔗 https://reg.eventmobi.com/product-development-expo-2025
Click here to learn more about simulation solutions from Simutech Group.
About Being An Engineer
The Being An Engineer podcast is a repository for industry knowledge and a tool through which engineers learn about and connect with relevant companies, technologies, people resources, and opportunities. We feature successful mechanical engineers and interview engineers who are passionate about their work and who made a great impact on the engineering community.
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
Derek Pietz shares his journey from engineering student to co-founding a successful automation startup and his current role leading engineering teams at Intuitive. He discusses the challenges of starting a company, lessons learned, and trends in the automation industry.
Main Topics:
- Engineering career path
- Founding and growing a startup
- Challenges and pivots
- Prioritizing work/life balance
- Designing robotic surgery equipment
- Improving team morale
- Communication best practices
- Future of AI and vision systems in automation
About the guest: Our guest today is Derek Pietz, the Director of Automation Equipment and Test Engineering at Intuitive, a trailblazing company at the forefront of robotic-assisted surgery. Prior to his role at Intuitive, Derek has been a part of four start-up ventures including one as a co-founder. He has built and led engineering and operations teams, designed machines, run a P/L, pitched investors, obsessed over supply chain, developed sales strategies, taught robots to make pizza and fixed customer problems.
Links:
Derek Pietz - LinkedIn
Intuitive website
🚀 Join Us at PDX 2025! 🚀
PDX 2025 is the Product Development Expo designed for engineers who want hands-on training from industry experts. PDX focuses on practical skill-building, cutting-edge tools, and real-world solutions.
📅 October 21-22, 2025
📍 Mesa Convention Center, AZ
🔗 https://reg.eventmobi.com/product-development-expo-2025
Click here to learn more about simulation solutions from Simutech Group.
About Being An Engineer
The Being An Engineer podcast is a repository for industry knowledge and a tool through which engineers learn about and connect with relevant companies, technologies, people resources, and opportunities. We feature successful mechanical engineers and interview engineers who are passionate about their work and who made a great impact on the engineering community.
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
Previous Episode
S5E9 Jon Montcrief | Medical Device Engineering Leaders 8
Jon Montcrief shares his career path in chemical engineering and process development roles in the medical device industry. He discusses challenges in manufacturing, supply chains, and the regulated medical device industry.
Main Topics:
- Engineering career paths
- Chemical engineering background
- Manufacturing trends
- Supply chain challenges
- Technical and soft skills for engineers
- Challenges facing medical device companies
- The future of medical technology.
About the guest: Jon Montcrief, holds a bachelor's and master's degree in chemical engineering and is currently the director of process development and sustaining engineering at Becton Dickinson, where he applies his process engineering and polymer background to develop products in the medical device space. John, thank you so much for joining us today.
Links:
🚀 Join Us at PDX 2025! 🚀
PDX 2025 is the Product Development Expo designed for engineers who want hands-on training from industry experts. PDX focuses on practical skill-building, cutting-edge tools, and real-world solutions.
📅 October 21-22, 2025
📍 Mesa Convention Center, AZ
🔗 https://reg.eventmobi.com/product-development-expo-2025
Click here to learn more about simulation solutions from Simutech Group.
About Being An Engineer
The Being An Engineer podcast is a repository for industry knowledge and a tool through which engineers learn about and connect with relevant companies, technologies, people resources, and opportunities. We feature successful mechanical engineers and interview engineers who are passionate about their work and who made a great impact on the engineering community.
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
Next Episode
S5E11 Roger Labrecque | Accelerating R&D Work, 21 CFR, & How To Collaborate Effectively
Aaron Moncur interviews Roger LaBrecque about his career journey in medical device innovation, focusing on accelerating R&D processes while ensuring compliance. They discuss strategies for effective collaboration, problem-solving, and networking.
Main Topics:
- Strategies for accelerating R&D while following regulations
- Techniques for collaboration and problem-solving across functions
- Approaches to innovation and patenting, and advice for networking as an engineer.
About the guest: Roger Labrecque, a distinguished figure in the field of medical device innovation. Roger boasts an impressive career marked by his deep passion for addressing unmet needs in healthcare. With a rich portfolio of over 20 patents, he is recognized for his innovative thinking and expertise in product development, from ideation through commercialization. Roger's leadership extends beyond technical skills, as he is known for fostering robust collaboration across cross-functional teams and incorporating critical insights through the Voice of the Customer process.
Links:
🚀 Join Us at PDX 2025! 🚀
PDX 2025 is the Product Development Expo designed for engineers who want hands-on training from industry experts. PDX focuses on practical skill-building, cutting-edge tools, and real-world solutions.
📅 October 21-22, 2025
📍 Mesa Convention Center, AZ
🔗 https://reg.eventmobi.com/product-development-expo-2025
Click here to learn more about simulation solutions from Simutech Group.
About Being An Engineer
The Being An Engineer podcast is a repository for industry knowledge and a tool through which engineers learn about and connect with relevant companies, technologies, people resources, and opportunities. We feature successful mechanical engineers and interview engineers who are passionate about their work and who made a great impact on the engineering community.
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
Being an Engineer - S5E10 Derek Pietz | Industrial Automation, Losing A Million Dollars, & Successful Startups
Transcript
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