Zack Alban is the Mechanical Design/Engineering Team Manager at OLogic. Zack joins us from Chicago, and though he is a long way from his hometown now, he enjoys visiting friends and family, getting his favorite Chicago Tavern Style Pizza with thin crust, and still claims the Chicago Blackhawks to be his favorite hockey team.
Five years ago, OLogic introduced Zack to the idea of moving to California, or as he calls it, “the land of innovation”, to become a member of the team. Part of the appeal to joining this company was the workshop that he would be in charge of and the fact that he saw our CEO, Ted Larson, as a very flexible and growth-driven leader.
Delving into how Zack got into this career, he shares, “I’ve always been interested in making things (and tearing them apart). From a young age my interests were in art and design, transitioning into wood and mechanical shop courses and then to industrial design. When I was in college, I got to redesign a rather “boring” piece of agricultural equipment (a Baler), into a piece of equipment that looked like a concept car; Equipped with brand new utility features.”
“Industrial design is a fantastic career, but I wanted more involvement in what was going on underneath the cosmetic surface. That’s what ultimately drew me to mechanical design and OLogic facilitated that for me.”
One of Zack’s favorite things about his job at OLogic is that he gets to fabricate mechanical parts and see them all fit together like a really heavy duty lego set. He loves to design them, working in CAD to tweak sketches and features to make the perfect component.
Two OLogic projects that are most memorable to Zack are Angie Hospitality and Zoetic Kiki. Angie Hospitality came to OLogic to do DFM (design for manufacturing) on their device and facilitate tooling. This project was significant to Zack because it was his first major factory produced product. Zoetic Kiki was a mechatronic Cat and it was very challenging to design and prototype, as it had many motors and actuated components that needed to not interfere. It was very rewarding to see the finished product.
OLogic has given Zack the confidence to succeed, and promoted him to Manager as the department expanded.
When asked about career lessons learned, Zack was quick to respond with these words of wisdom: “‘Measure THRICE, cut once.’ With an honorable mention for: ‘things seldom go right the first time’”. For new OLogic candidates, Zack said to “have an open mind for the iterative design process, balance projects by priority and try to enjoy the process.”
When he’s not working at OLogic, Zack loves to spend his free time playing hockey, working on his car, going on nature walks, and visiting the beach.
We have an ongoing debate here at OLogic whether cats or dogs are the better pets. Zack’s vote goes to team cat.
A surprise talent Zack revealed is his ability to perform a Chinese Yoyo (Diablo) act. And when asked, If he could have any superpower what would it be, without hesitation, he declared it would be “Flying” for sure.
Zack also enjoys traveling and his favorite place in the world is a tie between London and Chicago. He loves the atmosphere in London and when in Chicago, he recommends getting thin crust Chicago Tavern Style Pizza (if deep dish isn’t one’s thing)
Knife making is Zack’s source of “creative freedom”. He enjoys it a lot, as it gives him pleasure to create unique bespoke pieces for people, and as gifts for friends and family.
Even with his jam packed schedule, Zack is first to offer his help to anyone here at OLogic. When he arrives on his longboard after his train ride to work, he always has a smile on his face. He is happy to share his enthusiasm for any number of topics including, but not limited to: sports, gadgets, technology, tunes or cars. Zack’s wit and creativity bring a special advantage to OLogic where both team mates and customers benefit greatly!
See some of our other Employee Spotlight features and Blog Posts on our OLogic blog, here.