Spotlight: Michael Tsui, Lead Product Engineer

While growing up, Mike was often guilty of disassembling car parts and trying to figure out how to put them back together. He also did a lot of woodworking and enjoyed classes like shop and electronics. Mike always knew he would be an engineer, and at PaneraTech he doesn’t have to give up his love of doing the work to lead his team.

“I think that is a big part of leadership – being out with your team doing the work.”

Background and Education

After studying as a mechanical engineer at Virginia Tech, Mike completed four rotations at Newell Rubbermaid in sourcing, manufacturing, engineering and planning. This led to a position in R&D at Rubbermaid Commercial Products.

“I basically tried to destroy our product and find out what the weaknesses were. I would determine if the product would fail and work with Engineers to improve it.”

Before joining the PaneraTech team, Mike led a team of drafters, designers and engineers at Universal Dynamics,Inc.

Primary Role at PaneraTech

As Lead Project Engineer, Mike is focused on SmartMelter® hardware, optimizing the organizational structure and processes in place to better serve customers. He is once again using his talent to look for ways that a product or process might fail and make improvements to prevent that failure.

As the demand for SmartMelter® grows, Mike’s skills are essential to providing a high level of customer service. He organizes upcoming events with customers and works to understand how to improve hardware tracking and scheduling.

Working at PaneraTech

Mike enjoys the hands-on aspect of his job.”I don’t have to sit behind a computer desk. I am in the lab. I am repairing and fixing things.”

He also loves the challenging, fast-paced environment. “There’s never a day where I’m wondering ‘What can I do’  There are always ten things I have to do. And that’s a good thing.”