Bio

Charles (Charlie) Carr, P.E.

I graduated from California State University Chico in 1987 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering (BSME).  Working through college as a diesel mechanic and steel fabricator helped me to land my first job out of school as a design engineer for a garbage truck manufacturer in San Leandro, CA.  I found my specialty stride early while developing hydraulic systems, finding myself challenging the pump manufacturers to solve unusual problems.

I moved on after a few years to work for a magnetically driven gear pump manufacturer in Concord CA, where I was taken under the wing of their leader to learn the nuances of pump gear design.  During that time, I also worked with my grandfather (double major; Mechanical and Electrical engineering), where he helped me absorb the teachings of Earle Buckingham, author of Analytical Mechanics of Gears.  

In 1993, I left that company and moved on to Micropump, where I would spend most of the next 30 years with suspiciously similar products.  With my background in manufacturing, they invited me on to their Operations team as Production Engineering Manager to help them prepare and execute the factory relocation from Concord to Vancouver Washington introducing many new machines, fixtures and suppliers.

After the move and hiring my replacement, I moved to the Product Development group and was later selected to train as a Six Sigma Black Belt and lead the Lean / Six Sigma program for them.  I graduated that training on September 11, 2001.  An unforgettable day to say the least.    

Two years of projects later, I spent a year as Director of Sales and Service immersed in the Sales process before being selected to be VP of Engineering.  In that role, I was always a “working manager”, leading some of the most intense and transformative projects the company had ever seen.  These projects included our first dip into manufacturing pumps for the consumer electronics industry and for the automotive industry.  I also led many projects for the medical, industrial printing and analytical instruments industries.  All this while steering and assisting my team in their equally important projects.

After gaining my P.E. license and subsequently retiring from Micropump in 2022, I went to work for my bucket list company, Warn Industries as a Manufacturing Director to drive their Lean Manufacturing transformation.  As a premium US made winch manufacturer, they produce a LOT of gears. There, I was exposed to some different high volume gear manufacturing processes that had eluded me before.

After a brief return to Micropump to help their new ownership gain footing, I am now helping companies by consultation contract as Carr Engineering Solutions, LLC to help them innovate away from their competition by adding horsepower to their product development teams.  In my in-between projects time, I work my own projects usually involving my small collection of classic 4-wheel drive vehicles.

If you have an idea for a new product or improvements to existing products, I would be happy to have a look with you and quickly let you know how I can help.