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Q&A Series
Introduction
Want to know what it's like to join Seurat? We sat down with our recent hire, Philip Bethell, to explore why he is excited to join Seurat, what the interview process was like, and what he is looking forward to in his new role.
Q: What originally excited you most about this role?
A: When you look at my background, I've got over 20 years of experience in Industry. I started in aerospace and defense at Lockheed then moved on to Tesla Motors launching the original Tesla Roadster and the Model S and early work on the Model X. I’m bring a lot of experience scaling operations at start-ups which I think is sometimes underestimated. Doing this work at a startup is unique. When you're scaling factories at established companies with 10 - 30 years of experience all their best practices are in place, and they have all their teams and departments built up to support them. When you are in a start-up, you have to build it. That is what I like, that is what I’m excited about. I like building those teams and I have done it before at my previous companies and I am bringing that capability here to Seurat.
Q: What were the key things that made you decide to accept the offer?
A: I think the key thing was the opportunity to be at a company that's been around for a while but is still very much a small company. To be at the start of scaling this operation and being able to build something from a blank sheet is something I really enjoy.
Q: If someone is applying for an opportunity at Seurat, how important is previous additive manufacturing experience?
A: I think it's helpful to have that type of background, but it's not critical. When you break down our roles from electrical engineering, to manufacturing engineering, and to industrial engineering, we want people who have good experience in those three areas, and then we want to apply them to our business and our operations.
Q: How would you describe the culture at Seurat?
A: You’re always worried that what you see during the interview is a kind of catered representation for you, and the reality will be different. In the case of Seurat, I feel the reality continues to improve over that and it is much better than the initial meeting with the company.
I would describe the culture as very collaborative, very open, and very transparent. It’s something I always look for because I feel in a start-up you are trying to align people because you depend on the individuals in a start-up to achieve your goals. I think that individuals understanding the mission and vision of the company, how we're going to get there, what are the obstacles in our way, and how we all need to work together to overcome those obstacles is very important. Since I joined the company, we have had a few all-hands meetings and it's great to see that transparency from the leadership of the company down to each individual and how everyone's contributing to moving us forward.
Q: In the short term, what are you most excited about?
A: We are developing our next generation of machines and that first version is being built right now and I’m really excited to see that completed. That's the one we plan to take into a volume production ramp. That’s the one I'll be responsible for scaling, so it's very exciting to see that first one completed and then continuing with the work to scale our operations.
Q: What are the challenges and goals that you have for scaling production?
A: My overall role is to scale all of the manufacturing operations relative to building the printers. That includes our supply chain, quality control, and building the factories. What I've learned over time is that the supply chain side of it cannot be left alone. Making sure you have a very robust, optimized supply chain that will be able to support and feed your scaling is critical. You can't scale without that supply base also scaling. Building those relationships with suppliers, vendors, and partners is vital.
Q: What's your family like and what was the decision like to move to New England?
A: I have two daughters 11 and 14 and they were excited for me for this role, but we are from the West Coast. So, we have been introducing them to the East Coast over the last couple of weeks. We make these decisions together. We make them as a family and we feel this is the next best step for us
We hope this interview helped you learn more about Phil and Seurat. We are always looking for great people (with and without previous additive manufacturing experience) to join our team. To see our latest career opportunities, please click here: https://www.seurat.com/life-at-seurat