National Engineers Week Q&A With Anna Timbie

It is National Engineers Week, and engineers play many vital roles here at the Medical Products Division. Our work would not be possible without the unique skillsets of engineers: designing and validating medical devices and equipment, developing test methods, driving risk management, ensuring reliable supply and more. Anna Timbie started with Gore as a quality engineer, and over the last 16 years, has leveraged her engineering skills to enhance her work in the split role of Project Manager and Technical Integrator. In the Q&A below, Anna shares her insights into the important work engineers provide here at Gore and how the skills of engineering are an asset to many areas of the workplace.

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Tell us about your journey with Gore:

I joined the Medical Products Division in February 2008 as a quality engineer on a small New Product Development (NPD) team in the California plant. I got my first opportunity to lead an NPD team as a project manager (PM) in 2013. Since then, I’ve been a PM or a Technical Integrator (TI) on a large NPD program and now I have a split commitment as both the PM and TI for an NPD effort to commercialize a new component for an existing product family.

What roles do engineers play in the field of medical devices??

Engineers have a role to play in every stage of medical device development. Engineers help translate the voice of the patient or physician customer into quantifiable requirements. Engineers design the device to meet those requirements with the appropriate margin of safety for the application. Engineers develop the manufacturing processes to reliably produce the device at the quality assurance levels necessary for a medical application. Engineers develop the test methods to evaluate device performance and ensure product quality. Engineers respond to device performance feedback gained through clinical trials or post-market surveillance to drive continuous improvement.

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How are engineers vital in the work we do here in the Gore Medical Products division?

A foundational principle at Gore is that “our products do what we say they do.” Engineers play a critical role in delivering on that promise by translating user needs into design requirements, designing and building devices that meet those requirements and developing the test methods to evaluate and ensure device performance.

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What attributes and skills do engineering degrees bring to the workplace?

Engineering training develops a systematic approach to problem-solving and a discipline to use objective data to make decisions.

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What advice would you give to young people considering going into the field of engineering?

The foundational education and skill set gained through an engineering degree can be applied to so many fields! Of course, I think medical device development is a particularly rewarding application, but there are an unlimited number of ways to use those skills to solve interesting problems and make a positive impact.