Paulo Rodrigues, Electrical Engineer

Curiosity

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"I guess when I started very young, I'd have radios. I'd always want to take them apart or if I have these like, little remote controlled cars I'd want to take those apart see how they functioned and see they worked and if something was broken, I'd try to fix it."

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My Job

MY JOB

Title: Electronics Designer/Hardware Developer
Key Tasks & Responsibilities:
- design and develop electronic components such as microprocessor-based controllers, display units and sensors
- develop Product Specification Documents
- parts selection and specification, analysis of product testing and customer site inspections
- generate, review and respond to Problem Report Notices for design products
Started Job: 1999
Works with:
- technologists assigned to a project team
- other engineers
Reports to: Hardware Development Manager TOC

Projects

Projects

A typical project will start with a kick-off meeting where the Program Manager pulls the team together and we discuss where we need to be by a certain date.

Then basically everybody goes away to analyze how long they need to do the electrical, mechanical and software design.

Then we agree and decide what we each have to do so we can make our finishing date.

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Team

Team

We engineers work with various groups around Vansco like manufacturing and design verification. There are technologists who help us build test jigs for our products and test prototypes.

We meet once a week to analyze the performance of the products to see what we can improve on to make production life a little easier.

We also deal with mechanical groups to make sure that the software will work with our hardware.

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Where I Work

Where I Work

Vansco makes customized electronic components that fit into other products.

Their products are designed to be innovative and technically advanced, yet simple to use and able to operate in rugged or hostile environments on vehicles for construction, mining, forestry and farming.

It's a challenging place to work for engineers.

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Job Scope

Job Scope

I'm an electronic designer and I work on electronic circuits.

I with the customer's hardware requirements. Then we create a hardware spec and then a schematic. I do the schematic and choose the parts that meet certain transients and temperature ranges.

Then the schematics are transferred into a board layout and then ordered. The boards get built and we then get a product or prototype to test.

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Fly To Brazil

Fly To Brazil

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"We went down to Brazil. There were some customer concerns about some panels that we sent them and management decided that we should have someone go down to Brazil and have a look at these panels.

"Most of these issues were already resolved and they were quite pleased. They were commenting on how superior the Vansco display panel was compared to the older product."

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About Me

ABOUT ME

Background
- grew up in Winnipeg
- married

Interests/Activities
- winter sports like ice skating and tobogganing
- radio-controlled car racing

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Manitoba

Manitoba

In Manitoba you have less hustle and bustle. It's not like living in a big city where it takes you an hour to get to work. It takes me less than half an hour every day to get to work, even in rush hour.

The summers are great! They're hot but short. That's the only drawback about living here.

But it really is "Friendly Manitoba". The people are a main reason why I like living here.

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Racing!

Racing!

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"There are a few core guys here at work that bought into this and we all race together. Our cars have nitro engines which are high-revving, very loud and very fast.

"They do 40-50 miles an hour in a few seconds and you're zooming around the track we put together. It's very exciting."

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Stress

Stress

It's stressful at times because you have to meet certain deadlines and you do have to put in extra hours if you¹re cutting close to a deadline and you¹re not finished.

Sometimes it¹s quite frustrating and you have to take a breather, go outside the building and go for a walk. You relax a bit, then come back at it and start tackling the issues again.

Overtime varies, but I generally put in about three to five extra hours a week.

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My Day

MY DAY

8:00 am: Review e-mails from customers (internal and external)
9:00 am: Review planned activities and schematics
9:30 am: Update and enter material in SAP Bills of Materials
10:30 am: Check and update with Design Verification testing
11:30 am: Help others with electronic design issues
12:00 pm: Lunch
12:30 pm: Weekly project design meetings
1:30 pm: 'Breadboard' and test new designs then import to schematic software
3:45 pm: Write and update problem report notices
4:30 pm: Update checklists and project logs
5:00 pm: Enter time sheets and go home! TOC

Surprises

Surprises

I wouldn't say it's planned every week because, if there's an emergency, you have to drop what you're doing and respond.

For example, a customer called and wanted to change a design spec even though we followed their original direction.

You take it day by day, because things always change with electronics. Things might be going smoothly and all of a sudden something may not work. So you need to fix it.

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Typical Day

Typical Day

My day starts with checking e-mail and voice mail from customers. Then I update my current schematics, which can take most of my morning.

I spend a lot of time dealing with people as well as with mechanical or software issues. There may be some returned panels and I'll start looking into what might have gone wrong.

I'll also have parts or products in testing to monitor to see how well they're doing.

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Shop Floor

Shop Floor

I usually do a few rounds on the shop floor asking production people how easy a board or part we design is to manufacture. I have to do that once or twice a month, just go down on the floor to ask questions and maybe even do a sample inspection.

Problem solving is a big thing; a design might not work the first time, so you have to go back to the drawing board to fix that specific circuit.

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Quick Work!

Quick Work!

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"Sometimes it's spur of the moment and you kind of have to get into this thing, in this mode where you take this project and you go with it and it has to be done pretty quickly, within like two months, three months kind of thing."

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Testing

Testing

Mainly I ask technologists to create test fixtures for a product and usually they'll ask me questions on how to build these things. I give them a schematic to follow.

They report back to me on specific tests and if something fails, I have to go there and analyze it.

The conditions our products work under are very strenuous because these are construction vehicles on rugged terrain and in places with very high or low temperatures.

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My Resume

MY RESUME

Education:
1998: Bachelor of Science - Electrical Engineering, U of M

Experience:
1999-present: Electronic Design Engineer, Vansco
1999: Prototype Coordinator - 8 months, Vansco
1998: PCB Design - 3 months, Vansco TOC

My Education

My Education

After high school I'd wanted to take either architecture or engineering. A lot of my friends went into engineering too.

My first year engineering at university gave me a wide spectrum of choices: programming, electrical design, mechanical, civil; a little bit of each. It gave me an idea of which group does what.

I really enjoyed the electronics portion of it and that pushed me into the field.

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My Path

My Path

When I first arrived at Vansco I did design, fixing up old layouts that needed changes.

Later as Prototype Coordinator I got more involved in the whole company and how systems are done at Vansco. I dealt with manufacturing on a daily basis and they put me through courses like surface mounting.

When I moved into the engineering group, it was easier for me to deal with all those issues and the people around me because of that background.

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Courses At Vansco

Courses At Vansco

Surface Mount and Through-Hole Soldering
These are the two basic assembly methods at Vansco. Surface Mount Technology (SMT) is faster and takes up less space, but Through-Hole Technology (THT) is sometimes needed for bigger parts that aren't available in an SMT package.

Work Standards (IPC-A-610B)
An internationally recognized quality standard in electronics assembly.

Lean Manufacturing
A manufacturing philosophy that's all about eliminating waste.

SAP Software
The big database that manages materials, labour and other resources for the whole company.

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Key Skills

Key Skills

Technical Skills
- electronics
- mathematics
- computer software
- schematics

People Skills
- communication and listening

Business Skills
- report writing
- customer relations
- problem solving

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Why Electronics?

Why Electronics?

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"You get to build things, you know, you can make something turn on or off by itself - kind of magically."

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Me and My Job

ME AND MY JOB

Likes
- the challenge of electronics
- the great people I work with
- working with some of the latest technology

Challenges
- deadlines can be tight
- dealing with other people to get agreement TOC

My Ideas

My Ideas

I think it's important to just put your ideas out there. You might think your idea isn't good enough and keep it to yourself. But that idea might just save Vansco thousands of dollars.

For example you could say, "why not put the component the opposite way?" You might have thought it wasn't worthy of being heard but it solved a problem.

That's been my challenge. I've learned to just spit my ideas out to the whole group and not be shy.

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Big Challenge

Big Challenge

A project that I'm really proud of is making the main controller for a skid steer loader. That's one we build a lot of, almost one thousand a week.

I think that was the most challenging, getting everything up to speed and making sure that everything worked properly. We did have to change a few components around to make it work.

Because of the sheer volume of it, I think that was one that made me most proud.

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Tools

Tools

The main software I use for designing schematics is Orcad.

We also use SAP, which is the big database for all our parts, where we enter our time sheets and where we create our bills of materials.

For hands-on prototyping, I'll use things like soldering irons, power supplies and digital multimeters. Then there's all the testing equipment.

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People Skills

People Skills

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"People skills; you have to be a good listener as well. Like, listen to the other person's idea and not take their idea as nothing and yours as the most important.

"You have to listen and understand where they're trying to come from."

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Impact

Impact

There's real impact in what we do, for instance, in precision farming where we design a computer system that can handle extreme environments.

Our electronics help farmers conserve fertilizer and time because our circuit boards can hook up to a GPS system where soil samples are taken of the area and mapped.

All they have to do is just drive and the tractor will spray the right amount of fertilizer on the areas that require it the most. That saves them money.

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My Future

MY FUTURE

I would like to add another specialization to my skill set. I'm very interested in software development and I'd like to take some courses in that field.

I also like the challenge of project management and I'd like to move into that kind of role but I'll need to develop more customer relations and communication skills before I can make that move. TOC

Change

Change

The big change is that electronics is becoming more and more integrated.

In the past there would be multiple drive circuits driving X amount of outputs. Now with the same amount of outputs you require only one circuit.

For example, I'm working on a radar project where radar boards used to be larger. Now we're compressing them by using a different kind of antenna and circuit. That's how a lot of things are going to be: smaller and more integrated.

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Integrated Expertise

Integrated Expertise

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"A lot of people, they know electronics, but then they don't know how things are integrated with the actual application, where, you know, solenoids are moving.

"How things move and how things react, where you turn on the signal, what happens at the other end."

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Business Booming

Business Booming

The electronics industry is booming. Most vehicles these days have some kind of electronic component so I can see myself being here for quite some time.

The company's growing so I think my job is fairly secure. A lot of people know electronics but they don't know how things are integrated and that's where I come in.

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Useful Links

MORE INFO

Electrical and electronics engineers play a major role in pushing our fast-changing technologies forward.

Electrical and electronics engineers need a university degree in electrical or electronics engineering or in a related field of engineering.

After two years in the labour force, graduates can earn an average of 25 percent more than all university graduates at the bachelor level and are the highest paid of all engineering graduates at this level.

Click below to learn more. TOC

Job Market Info

Job Market Info

The links below take you to federal and regional government information on employment, education, salary ranges and long range prospects for this career.

The official title for Paulo's occupation is 'Electrical Engineer' and its NOC* code is 2133.

Manitoba Job Futures

Manitoba Labour Market Information
(Select Manitoba, the Area in Manitoba, NOC code 2133, then click Search)

Human Resources and Skills Development Canada

*Each occupation has an official name and unique number called the 'National Occupation Classification' code or 'NOC'.

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Education

Education

Useful High School Subjects*

- Math
- Sciences
- Industrial Arts (Electronics)
- English

*Source: Job Futures.ca

University of Manitoba
Electrical and Computer Engineering

Red River College
Full Time Programs
- then click on 'Electronic Engineering Technology'

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Industry Association

Industry Association

Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME) Manitoba Division is Canada¹s leading business network and senior business association. CME members account for 75 percent of Canada's industrial output and 90 percent of its exports. Over the past seven years, they have been responsible for over 45 percent of the new jobs created in the Canadian economy.

CME has established alliances with universities, colleges and training organizations throughout Canada. This ensures the availability of adequately skilled labour and enable Canadian companies to compete in today's global economy.

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Related Careers

Related Careers

Related careers from the Human Resources Development Canada web site:

Computer Engineers (2147)

Aerospace Systems Engineers (in 2146-Aerospace Engineers)

Electrical Engineering Design Technologist (2241)
(See also the CME career profile for Geoff Page)

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Professional Associations

Professional Associations

Graduates of engineering programs can go on to build their careers and professionalism by getting their "P.Eng." Certification.

Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Manitoba
APEGM is the provincial licensing body for engineers. Its mission is to serve and protect the public interest by governing and advancing the practices of professional engineering and professional geoscience in Manitoba. Find out how and why to become a "P.Eng."

Canadian Council of Professional Engineers (CCPE)
This is the national umbrella organization which sets standards for the provincial licensing bodies.

Engineering Institute of Canada
A federation of technical societies, the EIC is the leading proponent of continuing education and technical professional development in the Canadian engineering community.

Women in Science and Engineering (Prairie Region)
Their mission is to interest and encourage young women to consider careers in science and engineering.

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