Employee Spotlight: Sam Stowe / Tech Support Engineer

It happens. A new Canvas Certified Finisher (CCF) has a question about the drywall finishing machine while it’s being used on a project. Maybe even in the middle of the machine spraying or sanding a wall.

What to do? Who to call? Where to get an immediate answer??

Canvas Tech Support Engineer Sam Stowe (that’s him on the tablet screen) has been waiting his whole Canvas career for that call. In fact, he’s been diligently working on making sure that every Canvas support call is as seamless and as easy as possible for the person using the machine.

Says Sam's supervisor, Product Operations Manager Alana Yoel:

"Sam has revolutionized our Tech Support system since he joined Canvas. He is able to communicate equally effectively with our customers and our engineering teams, seamlessly translating feedback from the field into concrete improvement projects for the product team."

Sam clearly is good at what he does. But what exactly does a Tech Support Engineer do and how does it help Canvas customers and the internal team? We asked Sam a few questions about himself and about his job. Here's that exchange:

Where did you go to school? What made you decide to join Canvas?

"I did my undergrad at UC Berkeley (Go Bears!) and got my MFA in Industrial Design from California College of the Arts. I’ve always been interested in design, but had never really considered construction until my last role. There, I was designing, prototyping, and installing modular interior products for another construction tech company, and I became really interested in the opportunity for radical innovation that exists within the construction industry. I was drawn to Canvas initially by their human-centric approach to construction technology, and of course the opportunity to work with cool robots! I’ve been a part of the team since March 2021."

Describe the Canvas Technical Support Engineer role. What are you tasked with doing?

"At its most basic, my role is to provide support to our CCFs (Canvas Certified Finishers) out in the field if they run into a problem with our machine. When they run into an issue they can’t resolve, they give me a call and we troubleshoot together until they are back up and running. Think of it like calling the tech support line when your computer isn’t working quite right. Beyond that, I manage the system for taking those support calls and making sure they are handed off to the proper engineering team.

"My job is not only to solve problems in the moment, but to help make sure those problems are fixed in the future."

Can you give an example of a real tech support call scenario? What are some of the other reasons people might call site support?

"There have been plenty of interesting site support calls over the last year and a half! To be honest, the machines have become so robust since I started that most of the calls these days are relatively tame - the machine’s robotic arm was interrupted by a loose vacuum hose, or an edge case in our software was discovered that created problems when planning out a wall. Sometimes though, a more exciting call comes through. I recently received a call when a CCF had a problem with the machine’s steering. We were able to identify the root cause of the issue, and dispatch a field service technician to fix the issue the same day."

Tell me about the job when you first joined Canvas. Was the role clearly defined, or were they looking to you to develop it? What were your first priorities?

"There was definitely some development needed! The Canvas team started out very small, and many people had to do the work of multiple roles. Support was quickly becoming too much work on its own, which was when I came into the picture! My first priority was to learn as much about the machine as quickly as possible so that I could take over on support calls. Once that need was filled, I turned my attention to the systems behind the calls. What happens once a call is logged? Who needs that information, and how should they get it? I started helping put those kinds of larger systems in place to try and make support a more streamlined process."

What are your priorities now? If you were to be wildly successful in this role, what would that look like?

"Much of what I’m doing now is trying to optimize the support processes I’ve put in place, while designing them to scale in the future. Canvas is rapidly growing our fleet of machines, and we’re working with customers to get more and more of those machines out into the field. With this growing demand, our systems around supporting that demand must scale. Someday soon when we have 200 machines being used all across the country, we’re going to need a support system to keep them running at peak productivity at all times. I’m trying to prepare our systems now for that not-so-distant future!"

What are the 2-3 processes you’ve created at Canvas for internal groups and how will they help the teams/our customers?

"Customer feedback is critical, but it comes from so many different sources that it can be difficult to track in a data-driven way. The system I’ve put together is an effort to make the process of capturing, processing, and acting on customer feedback more efficient and targeted. The system for processing tickets (what support calls are turned into) and getting the right information to the right people is another internal tool for helping to keep our teams informed and ensure our product development is prioritizing the right solutions. I’ve also helped with building and running our internal processes for testing machines, to make sure they are site-ready by the time they leave our warehouse. One of the great things about being a part of the Operations team is that there are always interesting and challenging problems to solve!"

You are an original member on Canvas’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. What do you hope to achieve/accomplish by supporting DEI at Canvas?

"My personal beliefs around structural oppression and inequity in this country have been forged over decades of learning, and I’ve got a lot of learning still to do. That being said, I’ve only recently begun to turn those beliefs into action in the workplace. My primary goal at Canvas is to leverage my own privilege to call out any inequalities within our company and the industry at large, to uplift the voices of our employees, and to help develop company policy to build a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace. I strongly believe that a company cannot claim to be innovative if they do not have a diverse set of voices at the decision-making table. The construction industry has a long way to go in this regard, and I want to help make Canvas not only a leader in cutting-edge robotics, but in DEI, as well.

What is something that people probably do not know or would be surprised to learn about you?

"One of my main hobbies also happens to be construction adjacent, and that’s hand-tool woodworking! Definitely on the opposite side of the spectrum from construction robotics, but I enjoy the analog and meditative qualities of the craft."

What is your superpower?

"I’m not always successful, but I always try to understand others before needing to be understood. Working with a complex product in a complex industry inevitably creates some friction between coworkers and customers. We’re all working toward the same goal, and I’ve found that listening to and validating the viewpoints of others can help create a more cohesive work environment and lead to more enjoyable, more effective work."