ECD Names New Director of Engineering to Lead Product Development and Innovation Initiatives

Michael Pliska is the new Director of Engineering at ECD, supporting all product lines and market sectors. Pliska, who brings impressive credentials to the role, will leverage his extensive experience in mechanical engineering, software engineering and business management to implement systems that streamline development, capitalize on digital capability, and continue to offer ECD customers user-friendly process control technologies. The company is modernizing its entire thermal profiling, dry storage, and machine quality management product line-up. Pliska will oversee all engineering aspects — from major ground-up NPI to more efficient revisions that improve manufacturability and reliability. 

Before ECD, Pliska held several engineering management roles with companies in the automotive and bio-science markets. His previous responsibilities, as well as his physics research and coursework, focused on instrumentation innovation, making him the perfect candidate to head ECD’s Engineering department. 

“The Director of Engineering role at ECD was precisely the type of position I was hoping to find,” shares Pliska. “I’ve become accustomed to working at companies that lead in their respective product classes, and I’m thrilled to have landed at another organization where this is the case.  Having worked at large and small firms managing engineering teams of all sizes, I hope to leverage my experience with the Taguchi method of quality engineering and integrate that into the uniquely agile and responsive approach found with smaller, more nimble businesses.  Being able to oversee both the engineering management side and the technical elements of embedded controls and rugged electronics is the ideal role for me. I have found that at ECD.”

Pliska holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering, an MS in Physics, and an MBA from Portland State University.  He is based in ECD’s Milwaukie, Oregon headquarters.