When we deliver instruments, consumables, or reagents to our customers, we want to be certain that each product is as reliable and high-quality as possible. That’s where Chris Standley, Maintenance Engineer Lead, comes in. He joined Luminex in 2012 and holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.
Q: What are your responsibilities at Luminex?
A: On a typical day, my role is to sustain and maintain the equipment that assembles our consumable devices for the ARIES® System. These are the high-speed automation lines where we produce high-volume amounts of our cassettes. Keeping them running well is my main task, and I am responsible for establishing the programs that lead our team of technicians to success in that area.
Q: Where were you before?
A: Right out of college I got into the semiconductor world of equipment engineering. I’ve stayed on this path of equipment manufacturing throughout my career, moving from semiconductors to an automation equipment builder and then later to Luminex.
Q: What drew you to Luminex?
A: Location, location, location! When my wife and I got married, we moved to Denver to be someplace amazing before having kids. Soon after our first child, we headed back to Texas to be close to family. I started with Luminex in the instrument assembly area, which was a much different environment than my previous experience—you might make 30 instruments per month instead of 30 things per minute. Shortly after starting, I saw that the cassette group was trying to scale up production from a completely manual process to needing pieces of automation equipment, and I thought there was an opportunity. I had no idea when I started with Luminex that I would be back in high-speed automation. It’s an exciting field when you get into equipment of that scale. It involves a lot of complexity, and when you get to know every detail about a machine and how it operates, it becomes, in a way, your baby.
Q: If you could solve any clinical or genetic challenge, what would it be?
A: It would be to develop some kind of lab-made virus that could recognize the mutated DNA sequences of cancer and focus on only those cells to destroy the cancer. That’s what I would solve if there were no limits or boundaries.
Q: If you weren’t at Luminex, where would you be?
A: As I travel down the streets of Austin and go from one red light to another, I think there’s a real opportunity to solve Austin’s traffic problem. We live in an age of interconnectivity with our cell phones, but our stoplights are a badly outdated technology that only functions in a bubble. I would love to tackle that challenge and develop lights that monitor traffic flows and communicate with each other to optimize throughput in real-time.
Q: What is something about you that no one at Luminex knows?
A: This is a bit embarrassing, but I traveled a lot with my job prior to Luminex, and the frugal person in me would always save the soap and shampoo from hotel stays. My wife threatened to toss the whole collection when we moved back to Texas unless I promised I would use it. So, for the last 10 years, I have used nothing but hotel soap and shampoo! I’m almost out. But a word of caution for anyone like me out there: do not mix all the different shampoos into one bottle. I did that and it turned my scalp red.
Q: What’s your favorite thing to do in Austin on the weekend?
A: You’ll find me outdoors—mountain biking, speed skating, running, or camping, to name a few of my favorites. In my free time, I like to take any opportunity to be outside, and if there is a bit of adrenaline involved, that’s a bonus.
At Luminex, we’re a team of talented individuals helping change the world by improving healthcare and quality of life for all. We work tirelessly to empower our team to collaborate, connect, and solve problems in new and innovative ways. If you’re interested in joining us, check out our latest job postings at: https://lmnxja.acscreativedev.com/open-positions/.