JonEngineerGuy
Mechanical
- Jan 18, 2024
- 4
Hello,
I've hesitated from posting this, but have overcome the urge to get a feel for others opinions on my issue.
I recently began employment as a design engineer at a medium sized, OEM manufacturer specializing in custom one-off machinery. Design of this type of machinery requires a broad scope of experience, which is why I was hired as I have nearly 8 years of experience conceptualizing, designing, overseeing the manufacture of and running off/install manufacturing equipment. I'm thrilled to have found a company which specializes in this niche industry, as they are few and far between.
The one critical issue I've come across is attempting to work constructively alongside the senior designer, who's project I was brought onto when I started. I want to preface this by saying when I first started (roughly half a year ago), we bounced ideas off of each other, I jumped right into the project and laid plenty of design groundwork, all was hunky dory. As time moved on, the conversations started to veer to being asked to change things that I personally would have considered minor, things that the time it took to change the design costed more than what was originally chosen, such as slightly thicker material where I felt robustness was necessary. No big deal, I understand everyone has their preferences and wants things to be as cheap as possible. However it has fully evolved into 80% of conversations that are had between myself and this individual whether I'm asking for clarification since things aren't very well documented, or for a second opinion since I'm used to a collaborative environment, turn into an incredible display of condescension likely because this person is under a lot of stress (absolutely zero excuse for acting unprofessional, in my opinion.) Examples include being asked rhetorical questions loudly and having the most negligible of my mistakes clearly pointed out, multiple times a day.
A very generic example of a conversation would go like: "What are your thoughts on placing this bracket here? I decided it would make the most sense because of XYZ" to which the response would veer to "Okay, what is this bracket doing. Seriously, I'm asking you what is it doing here. Okay great, so you obviously know what the purpose is, why does it require these size screws?" or "why does it need to be this thick" or essentially anything that contradicts my design decision. Keep in mind, I have been at multiple companies where I've completed entire designs by myself which have worked great. I have also made tons of mistakes and know that I do not know everything, but it has gotten to the point where I fully expect to be contradicted on my decision if it is not exactly what this person would do themselves.
This project has a critical timeline and it has fallen behind, yet after discussions with management, they know that this person has saved them tons of money yet do not have to work with them directly in the design department, and their response to me mentioning he can be difficult to work with is "he is not the best with manners, but he's great at what he does." I know for a fact the project could have been completed much sooner without constant iterations and changing things, such as going back and reverting hundreds of screws to one size down, because they are 0.25 cents cheaper per screw, for another example. I've tried to stay strong and accept that there are differences in methods between each company, but this has taken a serious toll on my ability to feel confident in my work and my overall happiness and satisfaction in my career. I feel gaslighted in a sense, but again try not to take it personally and just get the job done regardless.
My question to the forums are: what would you do in this position?
I've hesitated from posting this, but have overcome the urge to get a feel for others opinions on my issue.
I recently began employment as a design engineer at a medium sized, OEM manufacturer specializing in custom one-off machinery. Design of this type of machinery requires a broad scope of experience, which is why I was hired as I have nearly 8 years of experience conceptualizing, designing, overseeing the manufacture of and running off/install manufacturing equipment. I'm thrilled to have found a company which specializes in this niche industry, as they are few and far between.
The one critical issue I've come across is attempting to work constructively alongside the senior designer, who's project I was brought onto when I started. I want to preface this by saying when I first started (roughly half a year ago), we bounced ideas off of each other, I jumped right into the project and laid plenty of design groundwork, all was hunky dory. As time moved on, the conversations started to veer to being asked to change things that I personally would have considered minor, things that the time it took to change the design costed more than what was originally chosen, such as slightly thicker material where I felt robustness was necessary. No big deal, I understand everyone has their preferences and wants things to be as cheap as possible. However it has fully evolved into 80% of conversations that are had between myself and this individual whether I'm asking for clarification since things aren't very well documented, or for a second opinion since I'm used to a collaborative environment, turn into an incredible display of condescension likely because this person is under a lot of stress (absolutely zero excuse for acting unprofessional, in my opinion.) Examples include being asked rhetorical questions loudly and having the most negligible of my mistakes clearly pointed out, multiple times a day.
A very generic example of a conversation would go like: "What are your thoughts on placing this bracket here? I decided it would make the most sense because of XYZ" to which the response would veer to "Okay, what is this bracket doing. Seriously, I'm asking you what is it doing here. Okay great, so you obviously know what the purpose is, why does it require these size screws?" or "why does it need to be this thick" or essentially anything that contradicts my design decision. Keep in mind, I have been at multiple companies where I've completed entire designs by myself which have worked great. I have also made tons of mistakes and know that I do not know everything, but it has gotten to the point where I fully expect to be contradicted on my decision if it is not exactly what this person would do themselves.
This project has a critical timeline and it has fallen behind, yet after discussions with management, they know that this person has saved them tons of money yet do not have to work with them directly in the design department, and their response to me mentioning he can be difficult to work with is "he is not the best with manners, but he's great at what he does." I know for a fact the project could have been completed much sooner without constant iterations and changing things, such as going back and reverting hundreds of screws to one size down, because they are 0.25 cents cheaper per screw, for another example. I've tried to stay strong and accept that there are differences in methods between each company, but this has taken a serious toll on my ability to feel confident in my work and my overall happiness and satisfaction in my career. I feel gaslighted in a sense, but again try not to take it personally and just get the job done regardless.
My question to the forums are: what would you do in this position?
