Interivew with Malachi Macon - Emerging Engineer

The IPC Emerging Engineer program offers students a unique, immersive experience that bridges the gap between academic learning and real-world industry engagement. Key benefits include:

• Mentorship from Industry Professionals: Students are paired with experienced engineers who provide guidance, share career insights, and help them navigate the complexities of the electronics industry.
• Hands-On Experience: Participation in technical sessions, workshops, and panel discussions exposes students to the latest technologies, standards, and trends shaping the industry.
• Professional Networking: The program opens doors to meaningful connections with peers, industry leaders, and potential employers, expanding their professional network early in their careers.
• Career Exploration and Development: Through exposure to various career paths and disciplines within electronics manufacturing, students gain clarity on their goals and next steps.
• Resume-Building Opportunities: Involvement in a respected, high-profile program adds valuable experience to students’ resumes, making them more competitive in the job market.
• Confidence and Soft Skills Growth: Engaging in professional settings and contributing to technical discussions helps students build communication skills, confidence, and leadership potential.

Overall, the IPC Emerging Engineer program is a catalyst for student success, offering tools, resources, and experiences that help shape informed, capable, and confident future engineers.

Charlene Gunter, Sr Director of the IPC Education Foundation followed up with Malachi Macon, a senior undergraduate student at MIT studying mechanical engineering with a concentration in robotics.

Charlene: “Malachi – Tell me something about yourself.”

Malachi: “Hi Charlene, I am Malachi Macon. Born and raised in Frederick, Maryland, I am attending MIT as a first-generation college student. I chose to study mechanical engineering following a longstanding passion for the design and manufacturing of products. Though I have interests in the space industry, energy industry, and climate research, I am happily curious to learn about any subject area. On campus, I have been involved with various extracurricular activities including a student theatre lighting design club, the MIT solar electric vehicle team, the Gordon Engineering Leadership (GEL) program, and more. When the time is right, I enjoy biking, hiking, and cooking.”

Charlene: “Briefly explain why you were interested in the Emerging Engineer Program?”

Malachi: “I first learned of the Emerging Engineer Program from an internship mentor and thought that it was a great opportunity to develop general skills in standards development, meet industry leaders, and learn more about how the electronics industry operates. Though I was originally hesitant, considering that the IPC is focused on electronics manufacturing, and I study mechanical engineering, I eventually came to acknowledge the importance of understanding different engineering fields in effective communication and collaboration as a part of an engineering team.”

Charlene: “What’s the most valuable aspects of the Emerging Engineer Program?”

Malachi: “I feel that the mentorship provided by current industry leaders provides invaluable experience for the Emerging Engineers, especially the university members. The opportunity to learn from the career experiences of leaders firsthand provides perspective on what soft and hard skills are important to develop for Emerging Engineers as they progress through their own careers. Additionally, the Emerging Engineer Program has numerous opportunities for members to exercise leadership skills through volunteering to work on standards, serve as committee leaders, and more. The best part is that the work being done can have lasting impacts, and that early career professionals and university students are enthusiastically encouraged to positively contribute to such work. Next, access to the technical proceedings of conferences provides a vast wealth of knowledge regarding developments in the electronics manufacturing industry, which may prove directly useful to the work of the Emerging Engineers at their respective organizations. Finally, one of the most valuable aspects of the program is the community itself. Not only do Emerging Engineers have the opportunity to meet and collaborate with organizational representatives and leaders from various levels of the global electronics manufacturing industry, but the support network that the Emerging Engineers provide each other is valuable as well.”

Charlene: “Why is this important within our industry?”

Malachi: “Though I’m still relatively new to how IPC operates and its importance in the electronics manufacturing industry, I see the Emerging Engineers Program as important for at least one key reason: the program aids in improving the quality of engineering in the industry through the exchange of knowledge and perspectives between current industry leaders and early career professionals. I see the role of the IPC as primarily collaborative in nature, focused on providing a global reference for electronics manufacturing through its standards. As organizations continue to keep up with the pace of technological innovation, the standards provide a basis for quality manufacturing in an advancing industry. From my understanding, early career professionals and university students that make up the Emerging Engineers are constantly striving to ensure they have the most relevant and advanced skills to begin their careers in a competitive environment. Following this basis, they may also be directly exposed to the forefront of new technologies and processes that are beginning to break into the industry. The exposure of these early career professionals and students to these new technologies can foster the development of related standards through collaboration with current industry leaders in exploring the limitations of these new technologies, and an appropriate forum for them to do so is through the Emerging Engineers Program. Though the program is beneficial to its members for a multitude of reasons, this is one reason why I find the program important for industry. It can serve as a feedback system, allowing engineers to closely work with leadership, providing insights as to their experiences, and vice versa.”

Charlene: “What’s your next steps in terms of professional growth and/or career aspirations?”

Malachi: “For now, my post-undergraduate career plans involve following my childhood passion by working in the space industry. Sometime later, I may consider moving back to graduate school to advance my understanding and technical skills in either controls or mechanical engineering. Ultimately, one of my career goals is to have technical competency and knowledge to know how to solve a problem, and to know how to scale the solution if the problem is encountered in numerous organizations.”

Charlene: “Why would you recommend students to consider career paths in electronics manufacturing?”

Malachi: “I would recommend students consider careers in electronics manufacturing, on the basis that there is a lot to do, and a lot to learn. From managing supply chain logistics for manufacturers, to even designing the machines used in manufacturing, there are numerous ways to contribute to the industry. In addition, given the prevalence of products that require electronic manufacturing in modern society, the industry is growing ever more important.”

Charlene: “What has been the highlight of the IPC APEX EXPO?”

Malachi: “For me, one of the many highlights of the IPC APEX EXPO was the very first standards development meeting, occurring multiple days prior to the expo itself. It was the first time I was exposed to such inter-organizational collaborations in industry, and I found it thrilling! I had no previous idea that companies would work together in such a way, and I was ultimately excited that I had found a way to positively “contribute to the world” outside of my day-to-day work.”

Charlene: “Please share three new things you’ve learned during the time at IPC APEX EXPO?”

Malachi: “1.The relevancy of chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, and other fields towards electronics manufacturing. I had previously assumed that some skills from other fields were directly applicable to electronics manufacturing, but I didn’t anticipate the importance/relevance of such fields. 2. The importance of a strong network, especially outside of a job search. I heard discussions of how certain problems with significant consequences were solved with just a phone call to the right person. 3. How large meetings (with 100+ attendees) can be efficiently run. I was pleasantly surprised as to how effectively the committee meetings operated.”

Charlene: “Please share a few sentences what this experience meant to you personally?”

Malachi: “My undergraduate career in engineering has focused primarily on the development of my technical skills, with a few subtle hints towards what engineering in industry looks like. Extracurricular programs would provide more insights as to what different career paths in engineering would look like, but it didn’t provide the perspective that I was looking for. Attending the IPC APEX EXPO is what brought all the ideas together for me. It finally gave me some insights regarding how industry works. Every product or device, whether it’s provided to consumers or to businesses, is the result of the contributions of numerous different organizations and companies working together. From sourcing raw materials to designing, from manufacturing to shipping components between facilities, there is so much involvement towards the creation of even the “simplest” products. Though this may be a fundamental truth to some, I’m ultimately excited to learn and carry this new perspective as I start my professional career in industry. Finally, I’m grateful for the support and mentorship I received while attending the expo, and for all the people that I’ve met.”