For this issue, we feature Josh Niesen. He is 3½ years into his position with Medtronic, after spending two summers as an intern during college. Josh earned the B.S. degree in biomedical engineering (BME) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
IEEE Pulse: How did you choose BME?
Niesen: I knew I wanted to work with cardiac implants. My grandfather had a pacemaker for the time I knew him, and it made a difference in his life. Even in high school, I would tinker with things and do building projects. I love solving problems creatively and wanted to make a meaningful impact in the world. I wasn’t sure back then which route I would take, but I knew I wanted to contribute to the field of medicine. Back then, my goal was to get into college, graduate with a BME degree, then work in the cardiac implant space.
I was fortunate to get the internship at Medtronic. It was a really good fit for me, in terms of the kind of work and the people on the projects. As I was nearing graduation from college, my goal was to work as a systems engineer with cardiac devices.
IEEE Pulse: What was that transition like?
Niesen: Probably the most challenging thing was going from structured learning to having to figure out what I needed to learn without any instruction or much guidance. On the one hand, no one is there with the answer; on the other, it allowed me to be as creative as I wanted to find workable solutions.
Having said that, I got the job during COVID, which meant I showed up, got a laptop, and worked from home. It was all a bit of a strange time for all of us. It didn’t really impact the quality of the work, but it felt off. I enjoy the hallway conversations with other people, just seeing them in the hall or being in proximity working on problems together.
IEEE Pulse: Tell us about your work.
Niesen: I work with new product development, specifically anything that has an interface with a device. That might be a mobile App or relay component that talks to the implant.
IEEE Pulse: How would you describe the culture at your workplace?
Niesen: Medtronic is primarily a relationships organization. It’s a lot of finding the right person to help you solve problems or tool solutions. Everyone seems to know their space and who to talk to who can make things happen or get you closer to the answer. I really enjoy the teamwork aspect of projects.
IEEE Pulse: Is that your favorite part of work?
Niesen: I love being part of a team. I love having the opportunity to solve complex problems, knowing that what we are doing will make a difference in people’s lives.
IEEE Pulse: What is the most challenging aspect of working with
devices?
Niesen: Dealing with legacy systems. The technology now is vastly different than what was built 30–40 years ago. Having to retrofit some of the older devices is challenging, since many of the original engineers are no longer there. Trying to find their notes or how they did something can be really hard. There is also the size and complexity of “scaling.” Going forward, security of the systems will be high priority. On the other hand, having something like ChatGPT will enable or optimize my time by attending to the menial tasks.
IEEE Pulse: How do you build work–life balance?
Niesen: I enjoy staying active and maximizing all the hours in my day. Right now, I am planning a wedding. I am also very physically active and work out daily. I am training for a half Ironman right now, so that is part of being busy in my life balance. We find fulfillment in staying active when we have free time.
Finding work–life balance is key to career satisfaction. (Photo courtesy of Josh Niesen.)
IEEE Pulse: Goal-oriented, even outside of work.
Niesen: It’s who I am. Always looking to achieving the next goal.
IEEE Pulse: Where do you see yourself in five years?
Niesen: I see myself in a technical leadership role, leading a program and being a lead systems engineer, at Medtronic. I dream of leading functional teams to success to achieve great fears in the medical field
IEEE Pulse: What advice would you give to your younger self?
Niesen: Take time to figure out what makes you happy. Being happy with your job makes life a joy.