James McKenrick

“James was the mechanical design engineer for our IR touch components group while I was the product manager. In summary, James is by far the most detailed, efficient, and thorough mechanical engineer I have worked with in any organization at any company. Although James was located in a different office in a different time zone, his high level of responsiveness made it feel as if he was 10 feet away from me at all times. Several of the projects we worked on together involved very challenging and ever-evolving stretch goals based on ever-changing customer requirements. As my background is not in mechanical engineering, I had to rely on James to help me prepare for my customer meetings - What questions should I ask to clarify requirements? What design features are possible? Etc. James always prepared me for the most challenging customer meetings. In terms of James' workmanship, I can verify that his work is always done right the first time, with attention to details that others (including our customers) many times overlooked. James clearly did his homework ahead of time, and he executed on demand under tight timelines. To recommend James purely on his engineering talent would be to overlook what I feel differentiates James as a star employee overall. It can be fairly straight-forward to find someone technically qualified for an engineering position, but it's the soft skills and inter-personal skills that move the employee from an individual contributor to a valued member of an effective team. Elaborating on James' soft skills, I've always appreciated James communication style. Whether verbal or written, his communicates clearly and concisely to his coworkers with the goal of resolving technical or logistics challenges quickly. His communication also focuses on being one step ahead of the next challenge. While considering options for a difficult design, he's automatically looking at cost considerations and potential supply chain constraints. James also took the initiative to work across organization and geographical boundaries. If there was a question or problem related to IR components, James could always be counted on to step in and take charge. The most fulfilling aspect of my work with James has centered on creativity and innovation. James and I would frequently have informal dialogues regarding potential disruptive technology advances that could be implemented. If I had an idea for a concept, James was the first person I would ask for inputs. Outside the scope of his day-to-day job responsibilities, James would work off-line with me to refine these ideas. I was always impressed with James' initiative to engage in these conversations with me. His creativity is a clear plus for any position. I would highly recommend James to any potential employer seeking to take their engineering organization's expertise to the next level.”