Kera M. Vant '00, MBA '07
Project Lead, Minnetronix
Position Description:
The Project Lead is the main customer contact. This position is responsible for organizing the development team and developing, managing, and communicating the scope, schedule, budget, and tasks. Project Leaders are also required to perform financial and status reporting. Project leaders may also participate in technical decisions affecting product modules and/or sub-systems. A Project Lead's goal is to ensure the team produces a safe, quality product that meets or exceeds the customers' expectations.
Necessary education or experience:
Engineering background in medical device industry and business background is ideal. Experience with full product development life cycle. The ideal candidate also will have familiarity with FDA and product safety standards (ISO/UL/EN/IEC).
Key skills that are necessary to be successful in your position:
Experience working in a team environment, and interfacing with development organizations, metrics, and customers. Good written and oral communication, both internally and externally with customers. Should also develop professional expertise by maintaining contacts in the industry and continue to develop depth of knowledge by studying innovations and changes in the field.
A description of your path to your current position:
Continuing my job search after graduation, I also spent the summer as a laboratory assistant to Dr. Tritt during MSOE's summer outreach program for high school students interested in the field of engineering. Milwaukee didn't have much to offer at the time for biomedical engineers, so in the Fall I moved to the Twin Cities area due to the number of biomedical companies established in the area. A headhunter soon contacted me after I had relocated and updated my resume on Monster.com with the addition of my summer experience at MSOE. I accepted a six-month contract position at Beckman Coulter as a software validation engineer, but two months later the company hired me full time. Later, I was promoted to the senior level. It took some convincing on my part in the interview process, but I'm proud to say I was the company's first straight-from-college hire and their youngest senior level engineer, too.I had already started evening MBA classes when I decided to leave Beckman Coulter for another opportunity at a smaller, growing medical device company. Minnetronix hired me as a development Quality Engineer and I spent the next few years developing test protocols for and testing both hardware and software for a wide range of medical devices. I had the opportunity to help with the submission documentation for FDA 510k approvals of several devices, as well. Meanwhile, I continued with my MBA classes. I have since completed my MBA and have now transitioned into the Project Lead position.
Good (and bad) aspects of your current position:
As a quality engineer I only had to focus on managing quality. As a project leader, I now have to focus on managing budget and schedule in addition to quality. This is easier said than done, especially when you're also managing customer expectations, team issues, technical difficulties, etc. On the other hand, it's called 'work' for a reason, right? It's what makes the job challenging and fun.
What do you enjoy about your current position?
There's something new every day. I also enjoy the variety of medical devices I get to work on.
Any other advice?
The sophomore year of the BE program is the roughest. If you can stick it out to junior year, the classes get more interesting and by senior year, your only challenge is getting through senior design. After all that, employment is a piece of cake. I also highly recommend pursuing further education once you're in the workforce. My entire MBA education was financed by my employers.
On MSOE and Biomedical Engineering
Do you think a degree in BE is a good choice?
That depends. It’s definitely not a degree meant for everyone. The
program is rigorous and demanding. But it was a great choice for me.
I wanted a well-rounded engineering degree because I just couldn’t
decide which subject I enjoyed most, be it math, science, medicine, etc.
An engineering degree is a great foundation for many careers, but
biomedical engineering especially lends itself to many career paths.
Engineers are great problem solvers, but I think MSOE’s biomedical engineers,
because of the breadth of the program, are great communicators between not
only varying engineering disciplines, but also between engineers and non-engineers.
Do you think MSOE is a good choice of colleges?
Again, this depends. MSOE is a great place for those students that want a
solid education. It’s not the place to be if you’re looking for the
quintessential college experience that a large university system can
offer. Then again, I didn’t want to be at a school that offered underwater
basketweaving. Having a good job after college was more important than a
stunningly beautiful campus with Division I athletics. The students that
are successful at MSOE are the ones that work hard, study hard, and, when
time allows, play hard.
Why did you choose MSOE's BE program?
I had considered U of Minnesota–Twin Cities, Michigan Tech and Purdue, but I chose
MSOE because the program was much better prepared. The other schools offered
more of a “bioengineering” degree, which was more of a make-it-up-as-you-go
approach. At MSOE, I knew exactly what I was in for. All the classes were laid
out and I knew I was guaranteed to be in the classes I needed to be in. MSOE
took out the guesswork. If the UW system offered a great biomedical engineering
program when I was pursuing it, I may have considered that, but there was no such
program at the time.
What did you like about MSOE?
I liked the small school feel in a larger city. Knowing that your professor knows
your name and has more time to focus on helping you is priceless.
What did you like about the BE program?
I liked that I was able to break up some of the engineering classes with science classes.
What did you like about the student activities and student life at MSOE?
At MSOE I was able to play varsity athletics and be heavily involved in Peer Mentors.
I doubt I could have had those same experiences at a large university. However, student
life can sometimes feel like an oxymoron at MSOE since everyone seems to be studying.
Now that you have graduated and are in the workforce, are
you happy with the education that you received in the BE program at MSOE?
Yes, but like many people, I wish I used more of what I learned in the program on a
daily basis at my job. However, I bet I have professors who are glad I don’t design
circuits for a living!
| For information about MSOE's B.S. in Biomedical Engineering program, contact interim program director Dr. Charles Tritt at (414) 277-7421. |