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Milwaukee Tools Recruitment Team,

My name is Jorge Martinez Arana, I’m a designer focused on the fuzzy front-end of innovation with a dual Master of Design and Master of Business Administration, and a Bachelor of Science in Mechatronics Engineering.

As a designer and lifelong maker and tinkerer, I’m thrilled to apply for the opportunity to help bring thoughtfully designed tools to the hands of people that depend on them.

Through my career, starting as an engineer, transitioning into management and now as a designer, I’ve been able to see how innovative tools drive meaningful work, and I’ve had the pleasure of leading innovation efforts from diverse points of view.

In engineering, I saw firsthand the importance of having the right tools for the job, and their capacity to help someone gain experience and earn a living while keeping the world running. As a manager, knowing that my teams had said tools brought me peace of mind, both through their time savings, and in ensuring the safety of my teammates. On a personal note, as a car enthusiast and maker, I enjoy discovering and working with tools that empower me to finish tasks efficiently and make my personal projects possible.

As a designer, I strive to help innovate in crafting those tools.

When I work on projects, I bring in my whole self and all my previous experiences to help me understand the problem and the people dealing with it, to craft innovative solutions. As a business designer and project manager at Industrias Marves, the largest textile recycler in Latin America, I brought together technical expertise about automotive parts manufacturing processes with business strategy to successfully deliver products to BMW, a first for the company. While studying and working at the Institute of Design, I collaborated with companies ranging from airlines to food producers to research, understand and strategize innovation with and for their users. In my latest work at the Institute for Healthcare Delivery Design, I helped a clinic’s higher management to connect with their underrepresented patient population, and uncovered opportunity areas for them to elevate the services they provide for Spanish speakers.

I seek to innovate with an understanding of the impact my work will have on its intended users, while meeting my organization’s goals. To manage that complex mixture of goals, I’ve developed my skills to provide valuable inputs to team-based innovation.

• User empathy: in all my work, the user comes first, second and last, and I’ve been able to foster that culture in the teams and organizations I’ve been part of. At the Institute for Healthcare Delivery Design, I interviewed and observed more than 40 patient interactions and presented insights to build awareness in higher management about the pain points of Spanish speaking patients inside and outside of the hospital.
• Bridging gaps between cross-functional teams: by building strong relationships with all involved and impacted by my work, I’m able to craft a common goal and steer projects towards it. At Marves, I facilitated conversations between the departments of Engineering, Finance, Sales, and Logistics to craft plans that led to deliver projects with sales totaling more than $1.5M and opened up new business lines with BMW.
• Balance of exploration and implementation: by crafting work plans and managing projects, I’m able to meet deadlines and fulfill stakeholder expectations, while keeping internal goals and constraints in check. Working with United Airlines at the Institute of Design, I was able to provide a wide range of theoretical innovation possibilities for them to explore, while also prototyping the select ones that were achievable for them and provided the most impact based on their priorities.

I believe my experience, goals and approach to work align with those needed for the position of Front-End Innovation Project Leader, and by being part of your team, I can help with Milwaukee Tools’ goal of being a progressive problem solver, not just a manufacturer.

Sincerely,

Jorge