Fearless in the face of failure, Zach turns every setback into fuel for innovation. His optimism, curiosity, and drive push boundaries and inspire his team to achieve the extraordinary.
Meet Zach!
Zach is a problem-solver at heart, turning everyday challenges into innovative SharkNinja products. As a Mechanical Engineer II on Shark Floorcare R&D, he has spent nearly four years driving performance improvements across everything from classic dry vacuums to cutting-edge handheld stain cleaners. Originally from outside Chicago, Zach graduated from Northwestern University with degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Manufacturing & Design Engineering. He is passionate about solving everyday problems and bringing products centered around people to life.
Outrageously Extraordinary in Action
Zach thrives on tackling problems others might consider impossible. Last year, he helped lead the development of a groundbreaking cordless handheld stain cleaner, The Shark StainForce, ambitiously aiming to fit wet separation technology into the palm of your hand. Achieving this level of performance in such a compact design had never been done before, and at multiple points, the team debated scaling back their goals. Zach’s confidence and relentless problem-solving kept the team pushing forward. Through hundreds of tests, countless small iterations, and continual design optimization, he helped deliver a product that achieved every goal without compromise.
This year, Zach joined a first-of-its-kind project designed to tackle a wide range of use cases. He quickly identified a critical gap, as the team was relying on old technology for certain use cases and assuming it would be sufficient. Instead of accepting the status quo, Zach gathered data to challenge assumptions and demonstrated the feasibility of revolutionary new technology. By stepping outside his lane and refusing to settle for “good enough,” he unlocked true innovation and ensured the product met its ambitious goals.
Hear from Zach
What does it mean to be Outrageously Extraordinary (OE)?
To me, being outrageously extraordinary is all about bringing positive energy to every problem, every day. Energy is contagious — the more passion I bring to a problem, the more my team will invest alongside me. And positive energy makes that passion powerful. Energy without direction won’t drive innovation; a positive mindset helps me use that energy to turn problems into opportunities, failures into learnings, and obstacles into improvements.
True Edge is described as “a key principle of the OE mindset, combining vigilance, innovative insight, and strategic solutions to create a competitive advantage that is exceptionally hard to replicate.”
What’s your True Edge, or what are you working to build?
My true edge is my relentless optimism, always working to find new ways to approach difficult problems. In the R&D world, it often seems like we are trying to balance an impossible set of requirements and goals for a given product. Even with my optimism, it can be easy to get discouraged if there are no signs of a path forward. So I first focus on proving the feasibility of a problem or goal. And once I am able to show that our target is realistic, I can be relentless in working to make that performance a reality. No matter the obstacles that I run into, my curiosity and optimism, founded on proven feasibility, can enable me to tackle the problem from every angle until the solution is reached.
Can you share examples of how you live OE?
I live Outrageously Extraordinary by not shying away from failure. Failure to me is not the end of the road — it’s a checkpoint in the problem– solving process. Failure offers invaluable learnings about how to approach a problem better the next time, or it can help narrow down a list of possible solutions. This mindset of seeing failure as a springboard for improvement is also another way I bring my team together in the face of difficult problems. Rather than being demoralized, failure can be the opportunity to regroup with my team, uncover new ideas, and drive improvement and innovation.
What makes working at SharkNinja special?
SharkNinja is special because of the way each person is empowered to make a real impact every day. Not only do we get opportunities to discuss problems/influence the direction of projects with leadership on a weekly basis. But also, if you have an idea, or uncover an opportunity to improve a product, you have the autonomy to get other people on board and make that idea a reality. And these moments of impact add up to real, physical improvements to the daily lives of millions of consumers — making all the hard work worth it 🙂
Please join us in congratulating Zach for being this week's True Edge Tuesday!
About True Edge Tuesday
At SharkNinja, we strive for the outrageously extraordinary in everything we do, driven by our True Edge – the super skills that set us apart. This cornerstone of the outrageously extraordinary (OE) mindset harnesses innovative insight and strategic solutions to create a competitive advantage, empowering us to positively impact people’s lives every day.
True Edge Tuesday celebrates team members who go above and beyond, showcasing what it means to reject the status quo and embrace the extraordinary.