S6E36 Tessa Axsom | Casting, Metallurgy, & Finishing with Fictiv

Being an Engineer

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Tessa Axsom blends deep mechanical engineering know‑how with the craft of product marketing. Today she serves as Product Marketing Manager – CNC at Fictiv, the on‑demand manufacturing partner known for its robust CNC resources and design guides. In this role, she translates shop‑floor realities into crisp messages, actionable guidance, and programs that help engineers build better parts faster. Before moving into marketing, Tessa wrote extensively for Fictiv’s Resource Center, authoring practical articles on topics like drawing best practices, corrosion vs. oxidation, and developing people skills as an engineer.

Her path began at Purdue University in mechanical engineering and wound through metallurgy and aerospace, including design of aluminum plate‑and‑fin heat exchangers and quality leadership in chemical analysis labs. That blend of materials, design, and operations experience anchors her marketing perspective in real constraints: tolerances, surface finish, manufacturability, and supplier capability—especially in CNC machining.

Beyond the written word, Tessa shows up as an educator and voice in the community. Fictiv has featured her in webinars and industry conversations, from manufacturing complex designs to commentary on timely topics. She also runs Precision Pen & Quality, where she applies engineering rigor to technical communication and consulting.

Across all of it, Tessa advocates for a simple idea: engineers who can communicate—who can frame tradeoffs, tell a crisp story, and align stakeholders—ship better products. That’s why her work on people skills for engineers resonates so strongly with our audience of builders and problem‑solvers.

LINKS:

Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tessa-axsom/

Guest website: https://www.fictiv.com/

Email: [email protected]

Aaron Moncur, host

About Being An Engineer

The Being An Engineer podcast is a repository for industry knowledge and a tool through which engineers learn about and connect with relevant companies, technologies, people resources, and opportunities. We feature successful mechanical engineers and interview engineers who are passionate about their work and who made a great impact on the engineering community.

The Being An Engineer podcast is brought to you by Pipeline Design & Engineering. Pipeline partners with medical & other device engineering teams who need turnkey equipment such as cycle test machines, custom test fixtures, automation equipment, assembly jigs, inspection stations and more. You can find us on the web at www.teampipeline.us

Chapters

1. Tessa Aksen's Background and Career Journey (00:00:00)

2. Overview of Fictive and Its Unique Offerings (00:02:53)

3. Fictive's Assembly and Testing Capabilities (00:04:31)

4. Tessa's Day-to-Day Role and Responsibilities (00:07:02)

5. Challenges and Successes in Product Marketing (00:11:25)

6. Storytelling and Marketing Techniques (00:16:46)

7. Design for Manufacturability (DFM) and Cost Reduction (00:21:08)

8. Advancements in AI and Material Selection (00:27:08)

9. Examples of Successful DFM Implementations (00:31:16)

10. Advice for Engineers Interested in Marketing (00:33:15)

11. Resources and Connecting with Tessa (00:38:40)

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