Engineering terror

Written by John Teel.

When I interviewed at Texas Instruments many years ago, I remember passing rows of cubicles where engineers were deep in discussions about complex transistor-level circuit designs and semiconductor physics.

After spending five years working in software, I had been dreaming of coming back to hardware, so hearing those conversations was pure music to my ears. I couldn’t wait to be part of those discussions.

That excitement, however, didn’t stand alone for long.

It was soon joined by something else—an overwhelming sense of terror.

It wasn’t the work itself that scared me—designing microelectronic circuits was what I was excited about and I’ve always loved learning new things no matter how challenging.

No, it was something else entirely that kept me awake at night.

At TI, like most big tech companies, every design had to pass through rigorous design reviews where a room full of engineers would scrutinize your work in excruciating detail.

It was basically a geeky version of being thrown to the sharks—if the sharks had advanced degrees in electrical engineering and physics and a love of pointing out your mistakes😊

Making it even worse, I hadn’t designed a transistor-level circuit since college—five years ago. Before TI, I had been a software engineer, so walking into those early reviews was like showing up to a chess tournament with a deck of Uno cards.

Honestly, I could barely understand half the conversations happening in those first meetings. Those engineers were operating on a completely different intellectual plane—one that I became obsessed with ascending to myself.

Fortunately, I had at least a couple of years before I’d be anywhere near having a circuit to present. I still had so much to learn as I pursued my graduate degree in microelectronics.

But as intimidating as these design reviews were, my excitement and motivation to learn far exceeded my fear.

Thankfully, by the time I had a design of my own to present, management had stepped in to make the reviews more constructive. The meetings were still intense, but they felt more focused on collaboration rather than competition.

I survived my first presentation, and the process taught me a critical lesson: designing in isolation invites problems.

When you design in a vacuum, it’s easy to miss mistakes or overlook better solutions, no matter how experienced you are. This is true whether it’s your first design or your 100th.

Regularly seeking input from other experienced engineers isn’t just helpful—it’s essential.

Even the most seasoned engineers benefit from fresh eyes and unique perspectives, and it’s often the difference between catching a small issue early or dealing with a costly mistake later.

For microchip design, this principle is vital because fabrication is so expensive and time-consuming.

But it applies just as much to PCB design, product development, and nearly any type of engineering. Input from others saves you time, money, and frustration by helping you identify and fix potential problems before they spiral into bigger issues.

So, don’t go it alone. Whether you’re tackling your first project or your 100th, make collaboration and feedback a regular part of your process.

And unlike me, you probably won’t have to present live in front of a room full of engineers eager to prove you wrong. Lucky you😊

To help you out here are my free design review checklists to help you reduce errors in your schematic diagram, PCB layout, and 3D models.

Then read this:

21 Design Mistakes to Avoid on Your PCB for Mass Manufacturability

and watch this: 6 Horribly Common PCB Design Mistakes

P.S. Get expert help and training for your project inside my Hardware Academy platform.

Engineering terror

Engineering terror

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