What does the future of engineering look like from the perspective of someone just entering the field? In this episode, Chad Jackson sits down with Ryan Botzbach — a final-year mechanical engineering student at UC Riverside with a computer science minor, a passion for aerospace and defense, and the kind of hands-on instincts that most companies spend years trying to cultivate.

Ryan brings a perspective that engineering leaders can't afford to ignore. He's the engineer rebuilding a Volvo five-cylinder engine in his garage, converting 1970s aerospace drawings into 3D models for a machine shop, and running a thousand-person car club — all while finishing his degree. He's not waiting to "get experience." He's already in it.

In this conversation, Ryan and Chad explore:

• Why today's young engineers will tolerate outdated tools — for now — and what happens when they gain enough experience to push back
• The change agent mindset — how to stay alert to improvement opportunities instead of just clocking in and clocking out
• Model-Based Definition in practice — what it looks like when a small machine shop bridges the gap from 2D legacy drawings to CNC-ready 3D models
• Fusion 360 vs. SolidWorks — an unpopular opinion from someone who uses both daily
• AI as an engineering accelerator — from troubleshooting obscure part numbers to standing up a Kubernetes cluster on a Raspberry Pi
• The affordability problem in defense — and why companies like Andúril represent a fundamentally different approach to how the industry operates

Whether you're trying to recruit the next generation of engineers, modernize your workflows, or simply understand how the field is evolving from the ground up — this episode offers a candid, unfiltered view from someone standing right at the threshold.

Ryan Botzbach is a graduating mechanical engineering student at UC Riverside and part-time team member at DNL Components, a supplier to aerospace, defense, and racing industries.