{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Manufacturing Hub","title":"Ep. 189 - Building Careers & SCADA Solutions Kent Melville Sales Engineering at Inductive Automation","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":4805,"description":"Welcome back to Manufacturing Hub. In this episode, we sit down with Kent Melville, Director of Sales Engineering at Inductive Automation, to explore career growth, sales engineering, and the evolving landscape of industrial automation.Kent shares his fascinating journey, starting as a computer science graduate with a background in web development, ERP systems, and industrial automation before making his way into Inductive Automation. He takes us through the challenges and opportunities he encountered as he transitioned from technical roles into sales engineering, growing from one of the first hires in his division to leading a 30-plus-person team today.What You’ll Learn in This EpisodeKent explains the role of a sales engineer and how it differs from traditional technical sales. He breaks down how sales engineers bridge technical expertise and customer engagement, ensuring that solutions meet real-world manufacturing challenges. He also discusses the growth of Inductive Automation, the company culture that has fueled his success, and how the Ignition platform has shaped the industrial automation industry.Another key topic in this discussion is the Ignition Community Conference (ICC), which has become a central event for the Ignition ecosystem. Kent shares how the Build-a-Thon, a live competition where integrators showcase their automation skills, became a major attraction and why it highlights the true power of rapid development with Ignition.Insights on Future Industry TrendsKent provides his perspective on where the industry is heading, especially in terms of IT-OT convergence. He discusses how containerization and DevOps principles are making their way into manufacturing and why version control and structured deployments will become the norm. He also shares insights on how Ignition’s flexibility enables organizations to modernize their operations and prepare for the future.Career Lessons and Key TakeawaysThis episode is filled with valuable career advice for...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/yoKAvzBXZ3YjQTekFk7KFGXeuwJ29WgXvop3dVEfhLs/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzE3MjEzLzE2MDk0/MzA1OTgtYXJ0d29y/ay5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}