Meet Our People: Mike, Application Engineer

Meet Mike, the newest member of the customer support team for the E3.series product line at Zuken USA. He joined the company a few months ago after working in the wastewater manufacturing and automation industries for the past eight years. An avid golfer who enjoys traveling and exploring local breweries, Mike is an application engineer who works from his home office in Milford, New Hampshire. As you can imagine, being the newest member of the Zuken family, Mike has a packed schedule learning the ropes of his new role, so I appreciate that he took some time out of his day to share his story.

From Customer to Employee

I started my career as an electrical engineer working for a Zuken customer at a custom panel manufacturing facility, where a great team of engineers supported me. There, I could design and draft control panels, program PLCs and HMIs, be involved in the manufacturing process from start to finish, perform in-house testing, and perform startups throughout the United States. Over time, our engineering team migrated to E3.series to help reduce drafting time and mistakes, help reduce the learning curve for new employees and build a more robust drafting process. After several months of using E3.series, my coworkers quickly turned to me as the subject matter expert for the software.

While I liked my work and felt confident using E3.series, a new employment opportunity lined up for me in the industrial automation industry. There, as a system integrator, my role focused on integrating PLCs and SCADA at a plant-wide level. To be successful in that role, I carried over everything I learned from the previous job to that one. After a while, I came across a job posting for an application engineer at Zuken. I applied and interviewed for the position and was fortunate to get an offer after being an E3.series user for many years. In February 2022, I joined the company and look forward to many rewarding years at Zuken.

The Many Tasks of an Application Engineer

My role as an application engineer includes supporting, onboarding, and teaching customers how to use E3.series products. Each part of my role at Zuken presents its unique challenges, but one thing I like most is that each day brings something new. On any given day, I could be resolving licensing/server issues, finding solutions to a customer-specific drafting process, or providing information on new features that have been incorporated in the latest release of our products.

The only typical part of my day is taking my dog out for a walk every morning and getting a fresh cup of coffee. Every day is different for me. Once settled, I check my emails and hotline calls that may have come in overnight. After responding, I create a list of tasks to accomplish for the day. I try to keep these tasks simple and achievable within the day. This helps me stay organized and on track. During the day, I might have to join a meeting with a customer to help resolve issues or help my coworkers teach web or in-person training. Another responsibility I have is assisting new customers with getting their licenses and software set up. Before ending the day, I review my tasks and emails to make sure I accomplished everything I wanted that day.

Helping Customers

Providing support to current and new customers can be challenging. Sometimes, questions require more than a quick email to resolve. I believe I enable our customers’ success by finding the complete answer to their problems, not just the quickest one. A perfect example of this was when a customer was trying to select a specific part; to illustrate the process, I created a video detailing the steps they needed to take to resolve their issue. I could have sent them a quick email pointing them in the right direction, but instead, I provided a clear resolution.

The Zuken Family

Although most of my work can be done independently, I still get to work with my team on a day-to-day basis. More specifically, if I need help with anything, I know that my team would gladly lend a hand. Even though I have only been at Zuken for four months, it is refreshing to know that all my team members have my back. This support structure does not stop at my team. I know I can reach out to anyone at Zuken, and all my colleagues would welcome me.

Memorable Projects are in my Future

Since I am still relatively new at Zuken, I’ve not yet had the opportunity to engage in any long-term or what’ I’d call memorable projects. My current focus is to continue strengthening my knowledge of E3.series in order to provide the best support possible to our customers. This doesn’t mean I haven’t thought about the long-term! I look forward to when the time comes and I can really dig in on a project to help our customers boost their productivity.

Home Renovations, Exploring Breweries, Traveling and Golf

In my free time, I enjoy working on the house my wife and I purchased last fall. Although we are new homeowners, we decided it would be a great idea to renovate the kitchen ourselves. It was a great learning experience, and I look forward to updating and upgrading the rest of the house. My wife and I enjoy going to one of the many local breweries in the New Hampshire area on the weekends. Golf is my favorite sport. Whenever I have free time, I can be found on the golf course or the driving range, trying to improve my game, even if it’s only by one stroke. Another hobby I enjoy but have not been able to do lately is travel. Before the pandemic, I visited the Grand Canyon and Iceland. While in Iceland, my wife and I car-camped for seven days while seeing the country’s incredible landscapes.