Meet the Team

With Meet The HARMAN Luxury Team, our goal is for you to get to know us better. In each edition we feature a different member of the team, and this month it's Armando Martinez, one of only a handful of Distinguished Engineers at HARMAN.

How would you describe what you do in your current role?

Hardware (HW) Engineering, (as simple as it sounds) HW is heavily connected to many different areas of product development, all the way from product architecture, testing/verification, UI, SE, AE lately with SW, so it is an interesting role because of all the interactions with the different teams involved, which to me is the most challenging and rewarding part of the process. Technology is changing at a very fast pace, it would be wrong to say that we are able to keep the pace.  Like the expanding universe, change is in all directions so we need to pick our battles.

What did you study in school? Did you always imagine yourself doing something like what you’re doing now or did the fates just take you in that direction?

It's interesting, because our University major was Industrial Engineering with the option in Electronics, so I had to take a lot of classes related to management and all its derivatives along with Electrical and Electronics. As you can imagine I did not have much interest in the other elements, my sole interest was in Electronics. But there is a reason for all, learning about other aspects of the industry were necessary tools in every one of the stages of my professional life. So, my goal was Electronics, but I did not have a specific area, the spectrum is really wide. At the end I really enjoy what I do. I think or at least in my experience, one thing takes you to another one, there are no accidents, some people call it fate, but there is more essence to it.

How did your career path lead you to HARMAN?

As mentioned before, looking back has been a constant progression, one step takes you to the next and so on. I started in product testing at AMPEX, a great school in many aspects, working in the Audio-Video-Systems-Division, I was exposed to an unimaginable number of analog and early digital technologies. Those recording machines were a statement, from control to audio were real pieces of engineering, then I got into Production Engineering at General Instrument where it was my first experience with switching technologies where we were responsible for maintaining product integrity across its entire life cycle. That opened the door for a company producing and developing switching technology devices SMPS, analog amplifiers for home and automotive industry, Test Engineering at this factory making products for IBM and ATT. Testing requires you to have a good understanding of the product itself, at that time developing ATE’s. IBM was actually asking the company to develop test systems for their production lines in other facilities, then Design Engineering but that came as a result of management seeing the opportunity to use our experience developing test equipment for product development, and is how my design experience started, initially designing some of the components, which by the way, I must mention that I have had the great fortune to be mentored by really top design Engineers in the industry. I have always been blessed to work with great people, HARMAN is not the exception. When  working at Philips as a Design Engineer, I was reached by one of my previous design managers working for HARMAN developing amplifiers for the automotive market, the rest is history.

What is the most important thing you have learned over your career?

People and collaboration are key, which includes our personal life. Always looking for solutions, at the beginning of my career I was involved in doing analysis of production related issues (Electronic systems) providing solutions, so in some way that got into my mind, we need to find a solution or look for alternative routes that can get us where we need to be.

Any other advice you would share with people just starting out in this industry?

Have the passion for what you do, be open to learn not only from work itself but more importantly from people around you. I learn a lot from everybody. If we are open, every person can give us a piece of advice. In some way we are a reflection of all around us, we just need to be a little bit smart to just learn and reflect the real values that can propel us up.

What are you most proud of in your life?

Family and all the opportunities that come with it. This team is part of it, not necessarily because we like all the brothers and cousins, but we need to learn to live with it and get the best from it.

When did you realize you had a passion for music or audio? Was there any one band, song, or movie that did it for you?

Music! My dream has always to learn piano but far from it, audio and all that is connected to it, music, movies, where multi-channel adds a new layer to the overall experience. Then HARMAN brought me to the next level, working with the Acoustic Team makes you learn and get even more connected to it. Not mentioning any names but these guys are amazing, their passion for what they do is incredible and contagious. 

What current technology impresses you the most?

ML and AI, removing all the buzz around it, makes sense to use processing power and network connectivity, as with any other technology well utilized is already making a difference, making processes far more efficient around us. The opportunity is there, we just need to be smart to control and channel its potential in the right way.

Favorite music genre?

No specific genre. I enjoy most of the music if it is pleasant and well performed. When I say well performed it encompasses all the stages needed, from the material, artist, orchestra/instruments, recording and reproduction. I’m not a refined listener, and taste for music as with beauty is relative.

The desert island question, of course. If you were marooned for eternity & could listen to only 3 albums, what would they be?

Sorry but I need to take all of my collection. Three is not enough. Three means I’m in hell. There are so many nice productions, it would not be fair.

You have the floor. In closing, tell us anything else you want us to know about yourself.

I’m the simplest person around, no complexities and always open to learn, work and listen. For sure family has a different perspective.