Culture

Meet the Team – Matt Dunham

March 16, 2021 By: Emily Hinderaker

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 Matt. Principal Systems and RF/Hardware Engineer. He specializes in wireless hardware, microcontroller firmware, and mechanical design. When he’s not on the clock, he’s an active member of the Minnesota Astronomical Society, heavily involved with amateur radio, and is also a Skywarn volunteer that does storm spotting (and the occasional chasing).

What were you doing before working at Punch Through?

I went to school at Northern Illinois University for Physics and Education. I thought I was going to be a high school Physics teacher. During college, I worked in the electronics department at a local amusement park where I did engineering design work. That’s what sparked my interest, and I’ve been doing it ever since.

Before Punch Through, I spent 5 years designing industrial controllers for metal stamping and printing press companies,19 years designing commercial and industrial ID card and label printers, and 9 years in design services, mostly for wireless IoT products.

What is your favorite thing about Punch Through culture?

The “design services industry” is fast-paced, and it’s good to slow down from time to time to keep our foundations strong. Punch Through emphasizes that our people spend time on personal/professional learning and growth, and on team-building among our team members.

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

When I started, it was during the pandemic, and we were all working remotely. I had several virtual “lunches” scheduled to meet everyone in smaller groups. Since we couldn’t go out to lunch in person, I received a large DoorDash credit so I could order lunches to be delivered to my house. With the small groups, I was able to talk to each person and get to know them better. It’s an indicator of Punch Through’s desire to develop our culture and the relationships with our people.

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

I love the process of turning product concepts into reality, and I really care about the success of the products I work on and the client companies we work with.

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

I enjoy the diversity of industries, applications, and products I get to work on. This leads to continuous learning and growth.

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

Prolific use of emojis for internal communications 🙂

Interested in Joining Our Team?

Matt specializes in wireless hardware, microcontroller firmware, and mechanical design. To see how you can become one of his teammates, check out our available positions.

See open positions

To meet more of the Punch Through Team, read these interviews:

About the Blog Series…

Great culture builds great products. Some of the ways culture is expressed at Punch Through are through authenticity, autonomy, and experience. The individuals at Punch Through not only build great products, but they are the culture. The individual team members aren’t defined by their past or title. They’re encouraged to be true to themselves, learn from each other, and grow professionally and personally.

It’s essential to get to know the people behind the projects and to understand how culture plays a vital role in everything we do. To help get inside the heads of the genius behind the brand, we’re launching a “Meet the Team” blog post series. Each post will feature one of our talented team members where you can get to know them on a bit more personal level, and see how their contributions make Punch Through what it is today.