How Cat Pomorski Brought her Passion for Metallurgy to Markforged

Cat Pomorski joined Markforged as an Associate Application Engineer in our Watertown office in June 2018. She grew up in Pennsylvania and received her degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Penn State, with a focus on metallurgy (she loves metals). She spends her days working with our Metal X 3D printer and helping our customers find the best applications for Markforged technology. We spoke with Cat to learn more about her background, her experience as an application engineer at Markforged, and more.

Why did you join Markforged?

I was really into 3D printing in college, and I always knew it was the field that I wanted to be in. I did my research for my college thesis on 3D printing and also completed an internship for UTAS (now Collins Aerospace), where I was able to 3D print some interesting parts.

What really drew me to Markforged was how amazing our composite printers are, and how no one else was doing anything similar. Which is saying a lot coming from a person whose focus in college was metallurgy. Ask any of the people that know me and they know much I love metals. Shoutout to you, Inconel!

What has been your proudest moment at Markforged?

I love when I have a super complex part geometry that no one has ever printed before (typically for metal) and have to figure out how to actually print it successfully. It's that ah-ha moment that feels so amazing.

What are three words to describe your team?

Hardworking outgoing nerds.

What is one of the biggest challenges you face as an application engineer?

I would have to say the biggest challenge I face as an application engineer is customer education. No one else is 3D printing strong composites like we are, and same goes with metal. Everything is so new and innovative, so we have to educate potential customers on what actually works well and what doesn't so they can print successful parts.

3D printing is its own manufacturing process and has to be treated as such. There is still so much to learn with 3D printing and there are new technologies popping up everywhere, so you never know what will be next!

Do you have any advice for someone who wants to join Markforged as an application engineer?

My advice is that you practice public speaking. A huge part of being an application engineer is being able to speak publicly about technical aspects of our product and relating our technology to real-world cases. You are also constantly talking to prospective customers about their specific application and how it fits in with our product capabilities. This can be a really hard thing to do and takes a lot of practice, but we are always looking for awesome people so just apply!

Tell me about someone who has inspired you?

I have a few people who have inspired me throughout my life, one was my professor who I did research with in college. She really started me down the road of additive manufacturing and helped me so much while at school. I will forever be grateful for the opportunity to work with her. My other inspirations are my material science friends in college who really pushed me to work hard and not give up. They all helped me to become the person I am today.

What's your favorite thing that you’ve printed with the unlimited 3D printing you have access to at work?

Honestly, I don't really print too much for myself. I print a lot of prospective customer parts which are amazing and super interesting, but unfortunatley I can't talk about them. However, I would have to say that the best thing I've printed is a metal ring out of 17-4 PH Stainless Steel. I mean who doesn't love jewelry? (Side note though we print tools not toys)

What is your favorite event that Markforged has hosted?

Each year, we hold a global partner summit — this year it was in Austin. It's a really cool event because you get to bring the entire sales organization together along with our partners to help learn and grow as a company. It was really great meeting everyone and it's amazing that Markforged puts on an event like that.

What do you like to do outside of work?

I love love love skiing and really enjoy spending time outdoors like going on casual hikes. I also love traveling the world and I can't wait to do it more!

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