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Welcome to The Wave Engineering Newsletter, your weekly guide to the cutting edge of engineering. Whether you're a seasoned professional, an eager student, or simply curious about innovation, we’re here to inform, inspire, and connect.

More than just a newsletter, we tell the human stories behind the tech—spotlighting the innovators, dreamers, and changemakers shaping our world. Backed by insights from Pipeline Design & Engineering and the Being an Engineer Podcast, we deliver the latest advancements, impactful collaborations, and stories that redefine what’s possible.

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Think about the last time you had to explain a technical concept to someone outside engineering (manager, client, or even family member). Did you find yourself oversimplifying to the point where important details got lost, or diving too deep and watching their eyes glaze over? What was the concept, and how did you handle it?

In 1943, Kelly Johnson walked into a circus tent in Burbank with 23 engineers and a classified contract to build America's first operational jet fighter. What happened next changed how the world thinks about engineering leadership forever. Johnson didn't just design aircraft - he reinvented how engineers work, communicate, and deliver results under impossible deadlines.

But here's what most people don't know about the legendary Skunk Works: Johnson's biggest breakthrough wasn't technical. It was solving what we now call "the translation problem" - the communication breakdown that kills more engineering projects than any technical challenge ever could.

Fast forward 80 years, and this same translation problem is still crushing engineering teams. A machinist-turned-engineer named Andy Thompson recently shared how entire manufacturing runs fail not because of bad designs, but because engineers can't effectively communicate their intent. Meanwhile, companies led by engineers are dramatically outperforming those run by traditional business executives, but most engineers still don't understand why.

The connection between Johnson's Skunk Works success, today's communication breakdowns, and the business advantage of engineering leadership isn't coincidence. It's a pattern that reveals something crucial about where our profession is heading and why the engineers who master this pattern will become the most valuable professionals in their organizations.

In June 1943, Kelly Johnson received an impossible challenge: build America's first jet fighter in 180 days, working out of a rented circus tent with 23 engineers. While the Pentagon worried about German jets dominating European skies, Johnson saw a different problem entirely. The real enemy wasn't superior technology - it was the bureaucratic maze that turned simple engineering problems into multi-year committee nightmares. Johnson's revolutionary insight was simple: "I wanted a direct relationship between design engineer and mechanic and manufacturing". His 14 rules created small autonomous teams with decision-making authority, minimal documentation, and direct communication between engineers and end users. Instead of designing by committee, Johnson empowered individuals to make rapid decisions and test immediately.

His philosophy was summed up in three principles: be quick, be quiet, and be on time. But the deeper insight was about human nature - that brilliant engineering emerges from brilliant organization, not just brilliant individuals. By cutting "misunderstanding and correspondence to an absolute minimum," Johnson proved that communication problems, not technical problems, were the real bottleneck in engineering innovation.

Johnson delivered the XP-80 Shooting Star in 143 days - seven days early. But the methodology became more influential than the aircraft. Johnson's principles predate and mirror modern Agile development, with small teams, rapid iteration, and customer collaboration. The Skunk Works went on to produce the U-2, SR-71 Blackbird, and F-117 Stealth Fighter - eight Collier Trophy winners in total. Today, from Google to SpaceX, every innovative engineering organization operates on principles Johnson pioneered in that circus tent.

Johnson proved that efficiency comes from "quality training, careful inspection, supervision, and high worker motivation" - not layers of bureaucracy. For modern engineers, the lesson is clear: technical mastery isn't enough. Leadership means creating the organizational conditions where brilliant engineering can flourish.

Read the full story on The Wave.

Engineering drawings that meet specifications but produce parts that don't work costs manufacturing billions annually.

Andy Thompson, working as a machinist, watched a customer struggle with a manifold housing design. Multiple suppliers could only get 2-3 out of 5 parts to function despite meeting all drawing requirements. Andy's team rewrote the specifications using proper GD&T (Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing) - suddenly all 5 parts worked perfectly. They went on to manufacture hundreds of successful parts using their corrected drawing. Mastering technical communication becomes a career differentiator. Andy's progression from CNC operator to Northrop Grumman structural engineering manager wasn't just about technical skills - it was about becoming someone who could translate design intent into manufacturing reality. This communication expertise led to industry recognition and a growing LinkedIn following where he mentors other engineers.

Start asking "How will this be made?" earlier in your design process. Talk with manufacturing and inspection teams before finalizing specifications. Learn the common language tools of your industry - whether that's GD&T, welding symbols, or surface finish standards. Engineers who can effectively communicate their design intent become the people others turn to when problems need solving.

Listen to the full interview below!

Forget everything you've heard about engineers needing MBAs to lead. The data reveals a stunning reversal: engineer-led companies are dramatically outperforming those run by traditional business leaders. For the second consecutive year, more top-performing CEOs hold engineering degrees than MBAs. This isn't just a tech industry quirk - it's a fundamental shift in what drives business success in the modern economy.

Harvard Business Review's 2018 ranking shows 34 of the top 100 CEOs have engineering degrees versus only 32 with MBAs. Ten of the top 20 performers are engineers, including Nvidia's Jensen Huang at number 2.

The performance gap is massive. Tesla, under engineer Elon Musk, achieved a market cap exceeding the nine largest traditional automakers combined. Amazon's Jeff Bezos (electrical engineering), Apple's Tim Cook (industrial engineering), and AMD's Lisa Su (electrical engineering) represent this new generation of technical leaders.

Meanwhile, Boeing's transformation from engineer-led to business-led leadership resulted in the 737 MAX disasters and ongoing quality crises. The company explicitly shifted from being "a great engineering firm" to being "run like a business" - with catastrophic results. Boeing is now led by an accountant while competitor Airbus thrives under engineer leadership.

Engineers possess exactly what modern companies need: systems thinking, evidence-based decision making, and long-term optimization focus. Unlike MBA training that emphasizes quarterly results and financial engineering, engineering education builds "an ethos of building things that work" with reliable outcomes and margins of safety.

Technical leaders understand how complex systems interact, can evaluate R&D investments intelligently, and maintain credibility with technical teams. They're trained to solve problems when "things are hard and directions are not explicit" - perfect preparation for business uncertainty.

Most critically, they think in terms of building sustainable competitive advantages rather than extracting short-term value. As digital transformation accelerates across industries, leaders who understand how technology actually works have decisive advantages over those who only understand spreadsheets.

For engineers considering leadership: your technical background isn't a limitation to overcome - it's your competitive edge. Companies increasingly need leaders who combine deep technical understanding with business vision. Don't abandon engineering for an MBA; leverage your analytical foundation to lead in an increasingly technical world.

Read the full analysis at the link below.

Engineering is about solving, innovating, and connecting ideas to make a difference. Progress is a collective effort and your curiosity is what drives it forward. Thank you for exploring the dynamic world of engineering with all of us at Pipeline Design & Engineering and The Wave.

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“Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while.” - Steve Jobs

In collaboration and creativity,
Brad Hirayama
Blueprinting tomorrow, today