David Savage was one of the first engineers hired by ICS Medical Devices and has been working in the company for over 3 years now. He started his career with ICS as a Senior Engineer and progressed to the position of Staff Engineer and below shares his insights on his career journey so far at ICS Medical Devices and shares his recent experience travelling around East and South Africa for 3 months.
How long have you worked in ICS Medical Devices? Tell us more about your education/career background.
I joined ICS in January 2020. Before that, I had worked in Creganna TE for 2 and a half years as a design engineer in their prototyping group. I also worked in Boston Scientific for 1.5 years as a mechanical test lab technician. I studied Biomedical Engineering in Dublin City University and graduated in 2015.
What made you choose a career at ICS Medical Devices?
I had previously worked with some of the ICS team in other jobs and I knew they were some of the best people in the medical device area. I wanted to work with these guys to help improve my knowledge and capabilities in the medical device space and to give me the best chance of furthering my career.
The line of of work is also very attractive as it is mostly very early phase prototyping. This requires creativity to overcome obstacles and design requirements and iterate designs to find a solution that works for the device and the customer. I enjoy the hands-on approach to designing and prototyping.
The customer-centric approach at ICS is something I also found very enticing. I thoroughly enjoy working collaboratively with customers to meet their specifications and design needs and seeing our customers achieve their milestones is a very rewarding feeling. We prioritise our customer’s progress and make ourselves available where possible, and this has allowed me to travel to Europe to meet customers in person to improve relationships and achieve a greater understanding of their requirements.
What part of your job do you find the most fulfilling?
Working in such a customer focused company like ICS has allowed me to develop a close relationship with customers on different projects and gain a deep understanding of their needs and requirements. This has enabled me to develop prototypes that meet and exceed our customer’s expectations. A lot of work and consideration goes into the design process; the materials to use, the assembly methods, so when they work out it is very satisfying. Bringing a device through to larger scale manufacturing shows how successful our prototyping phase can be.
How have you progressed in ICS Medical Devices since you started?
I joined ICS as a Senior Design Engineer in 2020, which was progress from my previous role. Within 2 years, I was promoted to Staff Design Engineer.
What was it like working in the early stages of a medical device start-up?
It was a rewarding experience to work in the early stages to see how much ICS has grown. I was lucky to be on such an experienced team who had a clear vision of where we were going and how we would get there.
What opportunities has ICS afforded you?
ICS has given me the freedom to manage my own projects from start to finish. They place complete trust in me to deliver high quality prototypes on time. I am also able to oversee other projects and provide advice and guidance to engineers and this allows me to gain people management skills.
Aside from work, ICS also facilitated an extended break from work at the latter end of 2022 to go travelling on a trip I had planned on doing for some time. They worked with me to hand over projects over the course of 1-2 months to other team members, take 3 months off and then allow me to return once my travels were over.
Outside of your job is there anything you are particularly passionate about?
I enjoy playing sports, having played Gaelic football for my local club for many years and more recently recreational rugby with a team in Galway. During the summer, I play with my colleagues on the ICS tag rugby team which play in the local for-fun, summer leagues.
I like to travel and see new places. Travelling gives me the opportunity to experience new cultures, try different foods and meet new people. My recent travelling took me across East Africa, down to South Africa over the course of 3 months. There were countless highlights of the trip, but some that stand out was trekking to see mountain gorillas in Uganda, sleeping under the stars in Spitzkoppe, Namibia and an unforgettable safari in the Serengeti, Tanzania. I also ticked off something I had wanted to do for more than 10 years, sit at the Devil’s Pool at the top of Victoria Falls in Zambia.
Serengeti Safari, Tanzania Gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest