PGN Foundation Plan

Begin a structured plan sooner.

engineer-led career development

Transform your potential into performance-driven results.

A structured approach to engineering career growth.

Built by engineers.
For engineers.

Start Interest Form

Leadership Team

Built by engineers, for engineers.

Nick Saltamachio

Co-Founder

Aerothermal Analysis Simulation & Test Engineer at Raytheon Technologies - RTX

Master of Science Student in Aerospace Engineering at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

Jared Duda

Co-Founder

Motorsports Vehicle Dynamics Simulation and Performance Engineer at Ford Racing

Why PGN exists

Traditional career resources aren’t built for today’s turbulent engineering market.

The career-resource gap

General engineering services & resources can help, but they often miss the technical context behind engineering roles, interviews, and applications

Students and early-career engineers are often told to follow broad career advice, but engineering careers require sharper guidance, current perspective, and industry-specific context.

Generic Guidance: General advice is too broad for each individuals starting point, meaning it rarely speaks directly to the engineer on how to improve and navigate their career.

Outdated Perspective: Students and early-career engineers are often misguided by outdated advice that is not tailored to today’s engineering career pursuit.

Missing Engineering Context: Most resources do not connect resumes, interviews, networking, and technical experience into one clear career strategy built around engineering industries.

Don’t settle for generic guidance when your path needs a real, structured strategy.

PGN helps engineers move with intention — clear resumes, improved interview confidence, better networking, and a community built around growth.

Professional Growth Network

Built for engineers navigating uncertainty, competition, and career growth.

PGN exists to bridge the gap between generic career advice and the real engineering hiring process — resumes, interviews, networking, positioning, and long-term growth.

How PGN Works

A more intentional engineering career journey.

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Fill out the PGN interest form

Tell us your current stage, goals, and where your roadblocks are

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Connect with us directly

We will review your information and discuss the best structured path moving forward for each individual

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How PGN will help

We will discuss services, community access, and targeted engineering career support

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Start building momentum through results

Move forward with a better structure, stronger positioning, and a real support network through PGN!

Questions are expected. Staying stuck should not be.

Interest Form

Your Community

Engineering careers move faster together.

PGN is not just another resource page. It is a community for engineers to ask better questions, share progress, compare experiences, and stay close to people working through the same career challenges.

A career search feels different when you are not doing it alone.

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Confidence

Shared wins create momentum.

See how other engineers approach resumes, interviews, projects, and career decisions.

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Questions

Real questions get direction.

Bring unclear roadblocks and work through them with people navigating similar paths.

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Progress

Progress becomes visible.

Build confidence through feedback, accountability, and consistent career development.

Why students and engineers trust us.

PGN combines practical engineering-career guidance, individualized support, and a growing ecosystem of peers

Leaders that understand

PGN is built by engineers who understand the realities of technical recruiting, project development, networking, and positioning in competitive environments

Individually Structured

No generic roadmap. Students and professionals receive direction tailored to their goals, experiences, and interests

Improvements YOU Worked For

Utilize your skills & experience built through PGN to create momentum that leads to growth

A growing ecosystem.

Students within PGN come from universities across the country in pursuit of one common goal

Testimonials

“Nick aided me in correcting the mistakes I made in constructing my resume in the form of inaccurate descriptions for my past work experience as well and reformatting the content in an easy to read and concise manner. After the resume was polished, he structured interview preparation during my active job search that aided in my first co-op and future offers after implementing the improvements under his mentorship.”

Jin Yang Soh

Master of Engineering (M.Eng) student in Mechanical Engineering at Iowa State University of Science and Technology

“Jared helped me translate my internship experience into measurable impact that employers value, positioning me as a full-time engineer rather than just a former intern. Beyond interview preparation, he guided me through offer negotiations and how to strategically leverage timing in the hiring cycle. That approach led to multiple interviews and ultimately multiple offers.”

Philip Doan

Vehicle Integration Engineer at Ford Motor Company

Acquire the skills & tools required to navigate today’s engineering career pursuit.

PGN exists to help engineering students and early-career professionals build stronger positioning, clearer direction, and a better understanding of the modern hiring process.

Structured Guidance

Remove the guesswork. Create a structured plan to follow and gain momentum

Community-propelled Growth

A community developed to promote peer-to-peer interaction and knowledge transfer

Modern Perspective

Mentorship shaped around today’s engineering hiring environment — not outdated advice

Interest Form

PGN Community Interest Form

We would love to hear from you. If you have any questions, email us at info@professionalgrowthnetwork.com

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About PGN

A student-first engineering community where guidance comes from mentors who understand your journey...

The team behind PGN.

The Team Behind PGN

Different experiences. One shared direction.

Nick and Jared bring different perspectives to PGN, but the format of the mission is shared: Utilize real experience, fundamental guidance, and a student-first mindset to lead towards growth

Nick Saltamachio

Co-Founder

Experiences

"My experience outside of PGN revolves around various engineering focus areas; mainly aerothermal engineering & simulations at Raytheon while pursuing my masters in aerospace engineering at UCLA. Coupling my experience at NASA, Raytheon, and Collins Aerospace with graduate school and Co-Founding PGN, I believe I am in a unique experience to guide others through a familiar journey."

Interests

"Outside of my work, I keep myself active through going to the gym as well as improving my entrprenurship background. I am interested in hypersonics, aerodynamics, CFD, and entreprenuerial development. I have a passion for doing meaningful projects and I am looking forward to building a great community within PGN.

Leadership Angle

"My leadership angle is to solve each problem individually with clarity. I apply an engineering problem solving mentality to organizing PGN and provding guidance to students and early-career engineers."

Jared Duda

Co-Founder

Experiences

"My previous experience spans multiple engineering disciplines, with my most recent roles focusing on simulation, vehicle dynamics, and performance development in the automotive industry. Through opportunities with Ford Motor Company (Ford Racing), Polaris, Tesla, and John Deere, I have developed experience in engineering analysis, system modeling, data-driven problem-solving, and vehicle performance optimization across on-road and off-road applications. These experiences have given me firsthand insight into skills, technical background, and professional development, enabling me to effectively help students navigate the internship search and career development processes."

Interests

"My interests are in vehicle engineering, with a focus on vehicle dynamics, simulation, and performance engineering, specifically in the motorsports industry, but I also enjoy applying these same principles to broader automotive development. I’m focused on improving vehicle performance through simulation and real-world analysis, while continuing to grow my network within engineering and motorsports."

Leadership Angle

"My leadership approach is leading by example. I emphasize consistency, preparation, and follow-through in everything we do. We will break down goals into actionable steps and help students stay on track and achieve them!"

What Connects Us

PGN is built from a shared belief in useful mentorship.

What connects us is the belief that engineering students need more than generic advice. Students are told to network, build a resume, gain experience, prepare for interviews, and figure out their future — but they are not always shown how those pieces actually connect to a successful plan

PGN is our way of building something more practical, honest, and actually student-first: A community that promotes asking questions, learning from real (and recent) experience, and move forward with more confidence

⚙️ Engineering Growth 🧠 Practical Learning 🤝 Mentorship 🚀 Project Building 💬 Community-Oriented 📈 Create Momentum

PGN's Mission

Make your career growth feel less confusing

PGN exists to help engineering students and early-career professionals remove the guesswork. We align every individual with a clear direction and path to improvement providing accessible & beneficial resources to do so

Start with a conversation

Tell us where you are in your journey, what you are working toward, and where you feel stuck

Interest Form!

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Drive the road with confidence..

You’re Here

Trying your best to figure it out alone

1 Receive guidance & feedback

2 Community Collaboration

3 Transfer Hard Work to Growth

The problem is not effort. The problem is trying to connect everything by yourself.

What students are told

Grow your netwowrk
Build a resume
Gain useful experience
Prepare for interviews
Build extraordinary projects
Find a way to stand out

What students actually need

Direction when the next step is unclear
Peers and mentors to collaborate with
Real life examples to brainstorm & improve
Feedback that turns questions into growth
A place where questions are encouraged
A community that celebrates accomplishments

PGN is where the missing conversations happen

The engineering journey can feel scattered because everyone is trying to solve the same problems individually. PGN exists to bring those conversations into one place — where engineers can learn from eachother and propell forward

Questions are expected and encouraged

Progress is easier to compound when people around you are building too

Community improves accountability through peers

Improvements take time. Surround yourself with individuals that are working towards the same goal.

We look forward to seeing you in PGN and have you apart of our community!

Join Us!

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PGN Slack Group

Where engineers & students stay connected, accountable, and excited to improve

The PGN Slack Group gives students and early-career engineers a place to ask questions, see opportunities, share projects, follow industry insight, and stay close to a community built around professional growth.

PGN Community Hub click a channel

Open Discussion

Questions, progress, and member-to-member feedback.

live preview

PGN

Member question

How should I effectively explain this project on my resume?

PGN

Member reply

Would this internship be a good fit if I am still early in my coursework?

PGN

Discussion prompt

What is one thing you are trying to improve before your next application?

Member perks

Future Workshops • Member Spotlights • Discounted PGN Services • Referral Program • Meeting Rooms • Testimonials

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Coming Soon

Building the next layer of PGN.

PGN is growing beyond one-time guidance. We are building more tools, resources, workshops, and community opportunities for engineering students and early-career professionals inside of our community

Join Slack Group

Work in progress

More support is being built.

Future PGN updates will focus on practical career tools, technical growth, project development, and member opportunities.

✉️ PGN Weekly

Career notes, community updates, resources, and opportunity previews.

🛠️ Technical Workshops

Future sessions around tools, workflows, projects, and engineering skills.

📁 Project Reviews

Support for making projects stronger, clearer, and more useful professionally.

👥 Community Events

Q&As, group conversations, panels, and member-driven sessions.

Want to hear about these first? The PGN Slack Group will be the main place where we share updates, previews, and early opportunities.