IDEC Engineering Insights #4: a leader with overwhelming enthusiasm for engineering who inspires the next generation

In recent years, reports on the state of industrial engineering have identified an ongoing issue – a shortage of talent worldwide. The need to attract, nurture and inspire the next generation of industrial engineers has never been stronger.

The IDEC Group is proud to boast a global roster of skilled engineers and innovators. One shining example is Greg Trujillo, engineering manager at IDEC USA. His achievements at work and as a community volunteer were recognized through the 2025 Engineering Leader Under 40 awards.

We posted about his award on LinkedIn a few weeks ago. After that, we took the opportunity to find out where Greg’s passion and motivation come from, and how he’s channeling them to make a positive impact.

Thank you! I was genuinely surprised to be selected.

I was nominated by another member of the IDEC USA team, but initially I wasn’t expecting much out of it. I wasn’t even aware there was any kind of award like this for the engineering industry.

I was deeply honored to be recognized. I’m typically reserved when it comes to sharing my own accomplishments, especially when it’s something I’ve done outside of work such as community service. Even so, I believe it’s important to highlight personal contributions.

I’ve been part of the Group for about 6 and a half years total.

I worked at APEM from 2014 to 2018 – I was a lead design engineer at that point. I’ve spent 2 and a half years in my current position at IDEC.

I love the people here, the people are awesome.

I left originally because it was a smaller corporation at that time, and I felt like I was missing something in terms of professional growth. I accomplished what I was looking for elsewhere, but then I was looking for the next step and it was the perfect timing to return.

I truly appreciate being given the opportunity to come back, and to contribute to the IDEC Group’s growth.

My favorite and most rewarding part of the job right now is supporting the team.

I recognize that leadership carries significant responsibility. To me, it’s about focusing on others and ensuring that teams have the tools and support they need to succeed.

I enjoy building bridges, not just within one department but globally. As IDEC is a global organization, I’ve had fun working with different groups and leveraging all of those different experiences.

Everyone’s highly knowledgeable, and that’s helped our team to grow as well. It’s exciting to be part of a company that’s growing every day.

I’m proud that I’ve had the experience of working at a startup company. You wear many different hats at a startup – I was the VP of Engineering, but I was also contributing to building the culture and values of the organization. I enjoyed and appreciated the ability to take part in ways beyond engineering and design.

I made sure that we focused on monthly activities for team building, health, growth and community service, and I put engineering KPIs into the mix. You really get to see how fun events and team activities bring a team together.

I focus on emotional IQ, and on understanding how to work with each individual. Which is challenging, because everyone’s different.

But I feel that doing that builds respect between team members and within the team. Once you look at someone as another human being, you say ‘Okay, you’re part of my team. We’re all in this together.’ You start building a strong foundation to work from.

Doing the same thing for this team has been one of the biggest challenges – it’s a larger engineering team than I’m used to. It’s exciting because it’s a new experience, plus I get to leverage things that I’ve learned in the past.

In the engineering department, something is always going to come up. So I think it’s important to build an atmosphere where everyone’s having fun.

The engineers can practice their craft, and I’m not micromanaging them – I’m allowing them to work with the ecosystem, and being open like that brings a lot of people in. People tend to want to contribute and help the team to succeed.

Even in my relatively short time at IDEC, technology has evolved significantly. I’m talking about the rise of AI, the expansion of IoT integration, and advancements in automation and robotics.

Something else I’ve seen over the past few years is that leadership in engineering is evolving. It requires leaders to be more agile, flexible and resourceful than ever before, because of how fast everything is moving.

I feel that the companies that will thrive as we move forward are the ones that embrace these new technologies and continuously seek innovative ways to support their teams. The team is always going to be the core, even as other things are always changing.

I feel like we’re entering a new era. There’s a journey ahead of us – a lot of learning, growing and adapting. For me, it’s an exciting time to be an engineer.

The IDEC Group continues to drive innovation across a broad, dynamic portfolio of products and initiatives.

As IDEC and APEM are now fully integrated in the US, what stands out the most to me is the construction-grade joystick we’re working on for industrial environments.

I say that because it’s a globally cross-functional project – we’re collaborating directly with IDEC in Japan, and with APEM in France, for the first time. This project specifically is leading the move toward one global IDEC.

It’s also one of our first joystick products developed with a focus on cybersecurity and safety.

Right now, there are a lot of joysticks with physical controls. Those may eventually turn into more virtual interfaces. Operators may not even be in the vehicles – they’ll be sitting at their desks, controlling a vehicle digitally. With that comes not just the need for safety and quality, but that issue of cybersecurity.

I think that’s going to be the future direction of not only our products, but these kinds of products in general. The more connectivity you have, the more safety you need.

In the future, I see engineering looking vastly different.

The way that technologies are evolving, experienced engineers need to embrace continuous learning, especially to stay current with emerging software tools and innovations. We’re not going to be able to survive with just what we’ve learned so far – it’s going to take until the end of our careers.

I’m driven by a passion for learning, and see myself as a guide. The more I learn myself, the more inspired I feel to share that knowledge and bring others on the innovation journey.

I also see all of us collaborating with AI a lot more, both in a digital environment and alongside robot counterparts on manufacturing floors. I feel like that’ll be the norm soon, if it isn’t already.

My main focus there is on providing strong technical leadership, and fostering an environment where the team can thrive and refine their craft.

I’m committed to strengthening collaboration throughout the IDEC Group. If we work as a unified team, we’re going to have greater success in the future.

One of my dreams would be to establish a technical internship program. We would partner with local universities to create opportunities for students to gain hands-on experience in design, quality, and manufacturing.

I’ve worked with engineering interns before, and with local colleges and grade schools. Once you give someone the right direction, they can contribute a significant amount – and they’re excited to do it. It’s the first time they’ve done any kind of work like that.

It’s like being on a sports team. You work hard, build up your skill set, and if you make it onto a global team like IDEC, that’s the main stage of your career. Essentially, I’m the coach. We bring the right players in, support them, and hopefully we win more games.

I’m excited on all fronts for anything technical, and any kind of group building. That’s what I enjoy the most. I have this knowledge and skill set that I gained outside of the Group, and now I feel well equipped to help drive the Group’s success.

My efforts will naturally start in the US, where I’m based, but I also enjoy working with other IDEC teams across different time zones, cultures, and languages. As engineers, we share common languages – critical thinking and problem solving – which help us bridge the differences and work effectively as one team.

Continuing growth and collaboration between teams is something I’m passionate about, and it’s going to be very valuable.

That’s a good question!

I work with students all the time. I think the main things I would want them to know are: stay humble, keep learning, and never give up.

Engineering is a demanding profession, but it’s incredibly rewarding. And every discipline within engineering is rooted in innovation. We’re building products, processes and tools from scratch.

Be proud of the profession, and use your skills for good.