"I nominate Joseph Valenti for this month’s employee spotlight. He is our resident metrology wizard and deserves the appreciation of the team for all that he does. The shear knowledge of metrology, inspection, and hardware that Joe gives us allows Natech to be confident in front of our peers and clients. Doubts never waiver in my mind on the quality of work Joe provides, I know it’s done right. His meticulous & detail oriented nature allows him to succeed in identifying and solving quality issues. Since being with us this past year he has significantly increased out quality horsepower here at Natech and I couldn’t picture our organization without him." - Josh Romero
Q: What do you do at Natech?
A: I am a quality engineer at Natech and the leader and expert in quality. I do process development for inspecting plans, drawing reviews, supporting the engineering team by validating parts, and coming up with solutions to inspect parts. I also work extensively with GD&T.
Q: What do you like most about Natech/working at Natech?
A: There’s something new every day. I get the chance to work with these medical devices we make and work in a higher volume production facility. I love the whole envelope we’re in.
Q: What motivates you to wake up and go to work?
A: I get to tackle new challenges and then have the satisfaction of conquering. I walk in, stressed as can be, and if I leave feeling like I’m on Cloud 9. And the team here is great. It’s all about the culture. Such hardworking, smart, and full-of-life people work here.
Q: If you could be anyone for a week, who would it be and why?
A: Elon Musk because he’s awesome. He’s my role model, he’s doing everything the world needs. He’s changing the world. He’s just the man.
Q: What something that most people might not know about you?
A: I’m an adrenaline junkie, I like risky experiences. Some people wouldn’t jump out of a plane, I would jump off the moon.
Also, I’m obsessed with fish and aquatics. My favorite fish is the discus fish. When I was in high school, I wanted to be a marine biologist. I have 10 fish tanks: 5 running in my house, 4 that I would set up if I had more time, and 1 at my mom’s house. It’s about 450 gallons worth of fish tanks. I also like reptiles, I have a bearded dragon. I also have a chicken coop but no chicken. Before, I wanted to become a farmer, but now my house is turning into a zoo.
"Joe’s optimism, unwavering commitment to quality and unparalleled expertise with the Smartscope are a huge asset to Quality Control office. He is flourishing as a Quality Engineer." - Andrew Dunham
Q: How do you feel like you’ve grown since you first started here?
A: I’ve definitely grown. I knew nothing and now I know a lot. I came from a background that was more focused on metrology and I didn’t work in a production environment. Moving to directly supporting production, I feel like I have a much better understanding of how things work. This company brings design to fabrication to commercializing a project. Before I came to Natech, I was just problem solving. Now, I am at the front line of helping to fix that problem, see what we can do, and why it's happening.
Q: Why did you choose a career in quality/manufacturing?
A: In manufacturing, I realized there’s a lot of really cool stuff made on Long Island, a lot of high-level medical devices, aerospace technology, and military defense equipment. I like understanding how things go through that whole process. I feel like an engineer here. I help real problems that we need to solve to stay profitable, successful, and bring in new clients.
Q: What are three traits/words that define you?
A: Funny, enthusiastic, dedicated.
Q: What are three traits/words that define Natech?
A: Innovative, knowledgeable, champions.
Q: What is your proudest achievement while working here?
A: Knowing that what I have to have to offer here is valued. It's been an achievement being recognized for what I do and the knowledge that I can provide.
