Zon Prep

Tell me about yourself

• Mechanical Engineering student at UCSB (BS expected 2027)
• Lead Manufacturing Intern at Vascular BioSciences — design fixtures and accessories for interventional catheters
• Lead team of 4 interns and help guide engineering decisions
• Improve manufacturing processes and troubleshoot technical issues
• Karl Storz Advanced Manufacturing Intern — built proof-of-concept automation system combining coiling and braiding operations
• Experience with SolidWorks, Arduino, MATLAB, Python, automation prototypes
• Interested in automation systems, controls, and improving operational performance
• Align with Amazon principles: Ownership, Dive Deep, Invent and Simplify

Tell me about a time you solved a difficult technical problem

• Problem: Catheter firing force inconsistent during testing
• Investigated mechanical interaction between catheter and sheath
• Identified sheath movement absorbing firing force
• Designed sheath stabilizer in SolidWorks
• Built and tested 3D-printed prototypes
• Result: improved force transfer and reliability
• Leadership principles: Dive Deep, Ownership

Tell me about a time you improved a process

• Observed catheter tubing bending process was slow due to alignment/setup
• Designed new bending fixture in SolidWorks
• Simplified tubing positioning and setup
• Tested fixture during manufacturing process
• Result: reduced setup time and improved throughput
• Leadership principle: Invent and Simplify

Tell me about a time you showed leadership

• Lead intern overseeing 4 engineering interns at startup
• Broke large projects into smaller tasks
• Helped teammates troubleshoot technical problems
• Coordinated work for aspirator system development project
• Ensured progress across research, component selection, and testing
• Result: improved team productivity and organization
• Leadership principles: Earn Trust, Ownership

Tell me about a time you worked with limited resources

• Startup needed aspirator system but commercial systems were expensive
• Researched medical requirements and system components
• Designed and assembled aspirator system in-house
• Developed noise damping system for operating room use
• Result: functional system built at significantly lower cost
• Leadership principles: Frugality, Bias for Action

Tell me about a time you learned something quickly

• Needed to understand manufacturing workflow of outsourced endoscope component at Karl Storz
• Studied coiling and braiding machine processes
• Talked with engineers and analyzed workflow
• Created process flowcharts in Visio
• Identified opportunity to combine processes into one system
• Result: developed automation concept
• Leadership principle: Learn and Be Curious

Tell me about a time you failed

• While building the automation proof-of-concept at Karl Storz, the stepper motors initially didn’t have enough torque to move the mechanism reliably
• First checked the power supply and wiring to make sure the hardware setup was correct
• After ruling that out, I investigated the motor driver settings and programming
• Realized the motors were running too fast to generate sufficient torque
• Adjusted the driver programming to reduce the speed and improve torque output
• Result: the system worked reliably after tuning the control parameters
• Leadership principles: Dive Deep, Learn and Be Curious

Tell me about a time you disagreed with a teammate

• Disagreement on best design approach during engineering project
• Presented reasoning and technical considerations
• Listened to teammate’s perspective
• Agreed to test both approaches
• Used results to determine best solution
• Leadership principle: Have Backbone

Tell me about a time you took initiative

• While developing an automation concept at Karl Storz, I wanted a clearer way to demonstrate how the system would work
• Created rendered animations in SolidWorks showing the manufacturing process
• Modeled the shaft behavior so that compressing the shaft in the assembly increased its diameter, representing the real scrunching process
• Modeled the braided wire with the actual braid pattern instead of a simple cylinder
• These visualizations helped communicate the concept more clearly to engineers and management
• Leadership principles: Bias for Action, Invent and Simplify

Why Amazon

• Interested in large-scale automation and controls systems
• Fulfillment centers combine robotics, sensors, conveyors, and control networks
• Enjoy troubleshooting and improving complex engineering systems
• Previous experience improving manufacturing processes and automation prototypes
• Align with Amazon leadership principles: Ownership, Dive Deep, Invent and Simplify