Meet Andy Lee – Embedded Software Team

At Punch Through, we encourage everyone to proudly be themselves and want you to know the people behind the work that we’re so proud of. That’s why we launched our “Meet the Team” series, where we introduce you to one of our team members each month. 

Meet Andy, a Senior Embedded Engineer who enjoys mountain biking, being a great dad to his two children, and helping others solve tough technical problems.

What were you doing before working at Punch Through?

Before Punch Through, I worked in manufacturing for about eight years. I went back to school and decided to get a degree in Electrical Engineering at the University of Minnesota. After that, I developed firmware in the aerospace and medical industry for a while. Those industries were a bit slower moving than I wanted. That led me to an IoT platform company. While there, I was originally helping customers develop their products to get onto the platform. As time went on started moving up the stack and got into backend web development. After a couple of years of web development, I decided I wanted to get back into embedded development. And now, here I am: at Punch Through.

What is your favorite thing about Punch Through culture?

At most companies, the roles are much more segregated between the levels, especially management. That’s simply not the case at Punch Through. I like how open the company is in general and that there’s a level playing field for everyone.

Tell me a story about your most memorable moment while working at Punch Through.

There are two memorable moments that come to mind: the first is when we were on a company trip together, and someone decided to order fish bowls. We all passed them around, and then the next week, one by one, we all got sick. We now refer to it as the “Fishbowl Incident of 2019”.

The second is a bit more professional and relates to later answers. When I was given the trust of both Punch Through and my co-workers to help mentor other developers on the team, that was extremely memorable and meaningful.

What cool or rewarding things do you get to do on a regular basis?

I really enjoy the variety of what I do. Working with different clients, team members, platforms, and technologies makes each day interesting and new in a way. With all these moving parts, the feedback loop is still pretty fast, and you get to see the work you’re doing get utilized right away.

What is the most valuable part of your work to you on a personal level?

While I enjoy working on technical challenges, working with others to help them get through problems is the most valuable part of my job. Mentoring brings me joy and is more valuable to me where I’m at in my life. Besides that, being a mentor exposes me to a lot of different perspectives. I try not to think that my way is always “right,” so it helps me to see things differently.

Coaching is a part of being on a team, and I’m able to help others as they help me.

What is different about Punch Through versus other places you have worked?

For one, we are all very open and transparent. There are so many levels of our work, and many projects happening at one time, it’s not always easy to know what’s going on. However, our management team is very transparent, and I feel comfortable talking to each and every person about anything that comes up.