{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"The Medtech Innovation Podcast","title":"She scaled her engineering team from 2 to 150 (steal her secrets)","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":2785,"description":"I'm joined by Lindsay Crescenzo, R&D Director at Heraeus, as we explore how contract manufacturers are powering the electrophysiology boom, the strategic logic behind selective automation investments, and what it actually takes to build a high-performing engineering team from scratch.In this episode, we dive deep into:The DNA of Heraeus: Contract Manufacturing for EP→ Heraeus focuses exclusively on contract manufacturing and design support without developing competing products — from process development through commercialization→ Heavy investment in their Costa Rica facility for scaled catheter production, with a customer mix spanning large OEMs and strategic startups→ How they evaluate which programs to take on and the capabilities that make them worth the conversationWhy Large OEMs Send Programs Outside→ The three core reasons OEMs go external: keeping their internal pipeline moving, cost optimization, and launching programs they can't otherwise resource→ Contract manufacturers must be faster, bring space the OEM doesn't have, and match technical depth — or they don't add real value→ How Heraeus approaches large OEM relationships by forward-investing in automation and team capacity before the askClinical Immersion: Engineers in the Cath Lab→ Heraeus sends engineers to observe live procedures and interact directly with physicians — most engineers designing EP devices have never seen one used→ Understanding real physician workflow and patient need produces better device designers, full stop→ Clinical immersion closes the gap between engineering specs and what actually works at the tableAutomating Bottlenecks, Not Full Lines→ Heraeus targets only the constraint steps in manufacturing for automation — not attempting to automate entire production lines→ Investment focus: robotics and laser systems that serve multiple products across multiple customers→ The decision framework weighs labor cost, operator ergonomics, and margin improvement — not just what's technically...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/SKJTlzh1Dih_UjWAMpaf9asEOJluhYL_CM3FATuVvVc/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS8yM2U1/NjA3NjAzY2M1NDA0/ZDZkYTRiY2Y3Mjky/MTRmNi5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}