Empowering Growth: Evan Kirby’s Journey from the US Navy to One of Our Admirals in the Software Department

Before I talk about my current role, I think I should give some context about my career path and how I came to be at Materialise. The skill set I used to get the job at Materialise was developed during my ten years in the US Navy. My last duty station was as an instructor, teaching new sailors the operation and maintenance of nuclear reactors. 

I then took a position as a technical instructor for a company that manufactures ultra-high-pressure water jet equipment. I spent some time there before joining Materialise after I saw a vacancy ad in a newspaper in 2001. The team was looking for someone to start a formal training program for Magics. There wasn’t one at the time, with the Application Engineers simply doing a “day-long demo” that passed for training, and they were looking for something a little more effective. 

I was brought in to create a structured and cohesive sales engineering training program. We needed trainees to really understand our solutions so that they could explain this to customers — and for our customers to better understand what we can offer them. The training program was successful and has enabled better customer engagement throughout the years, and I’ve been at Materialise US ever since. I’m currently managing a team of engineers that provide pre- and post-sales support for our Magics 3D Print Suite and CO-AM Software Platform. 

I’ll need to refer to my time in the Navy again to answer this question. I was four or five years older than sailors in the same role. (Here’s something to think about: new sailors in the US Navy typically are only 18 to 19 years old when they start their training and around 19 or 20 when they arrive at their first command to start operating reactors!) So, I had much more life experience than most. Once I joined Materialise, there were only seven of us with one manager. But as the years passed and the office grew, one person could no longer manage the entire team. With all my prior experience, I was selected to manage the technical team. 

Keep in mind that engineers can find it challenging when dealing with people; they tend to be more independent by nature. Fortunately, my experience in the Navy mentoring new sailors and customer-facing field service work I did gave me the confidence I needed. I should say, though, it helps when the people you manage are so easy to deal with. The company culture encourages independent, pro-active thinking and the employees at Materialise love to collaborate. This translates into passionate people and teams that enjoy what they do. They just get on with their work in general and make me look good! 

That’s an interesting question. One of the cool things about this position, especially working on the software side, is the dichotomy of it. Every day is the same; however, every day is different as well. While we’re continuously updating the software, what it does and how it helps customers remains constant, which adds an element of sameness. But you never know what customer you might be working with on any given day, which makes a difference. I like to play a game with people unfamiliar with additive manufacturing: name an industry that has not been touched by AM technology in some form… It’s impossible! AM’s flexibility allows me to work with different people in various industries all the time. That motivates me.    

It's very satisfying, especially when you can solve an issue for a customer which results in a sale. 

Although, I always emphasize to my team that we're not direct salespeople. One of our contributions to the sales process is to solve customers’ problems. Engineers live to solve problems. We should maintain this mentality: my team solving problems. When they do, it’s very satisfying for them, me, and the customer. 

I like to say that the Pre-Sales Engineering team is the “rails for the sale.” What I mean by that is we ensure that we keep a sale pointed in the right direction and, when necessary, “gently guide” the sales team in that direction. I’ve seen and experienced a lot at Materialise. I started training people on Magics version 6.3, and I still have the CDs with version 4.5 before I even started. I use that experience to guide and mentor my team so that they can perform their tasks to the best of their abilities. 

It seemed natural to me. I’ve been a manager for 11 years now, and I’ve celebrated my 60^th birthday. I’m happy that I’ve reached this milestone and the possibility of receiving even more responsibility within Materialise so that I can continue to grow. I've been talking with my manager about my next step, but even after 22 years, I still have the opportunity to try something new and develop within the organization. That's what I'm looking forward to right now. 

Evan has achieved more in his career than some have in two lifetimes, from sailor to educator; what a journey! Evan’s journey illustrates that you don’t need to have a background in AM to make a difference in the industry. His knowledge, commitment, and longevity has helped shape our software, our employees, and our customers’ lives for the better. Thanks for all your hard work, Evan: Magics wouldn’t be the same without you! Want to know more about Materialise and how you can make a difference to create a better, healthier, more sustainable world? Visit our Careers section.