Calm water at sunset with a snow-capped volcano venting on the horizon

Hi, I’m
Cole Russell

Mechanical engineer designing, certifying, and testing marine and medical hardware.

An Engineer on the Water.

I’ve spent my summers on boats in Alaska: as lead engineer on a 58 ft Bering Sea seiner, and as an engineering intern designing and certifying aluminium passenger vessels at Bay Weld Boats.

During my senior year I’m currently project manager on a Medtronic capstone, shrinking a wristed surgical instrument for the Hugo robotic surgery system.

Scroll below to see the boats and hardware I’ve helped design, certify and test!

Portrait at sunset in the dunes — Off the clock in the dunes.

Work Experience.

May – Aug 2026 · Homer, Alaska · Design Engineering Intern

Bay Weld Boats

A clean-sheet 23-passenger RIB, deadweight surveys that put three boats into service, and an A-frame sized for the moment nothing is being lifted.

View internship

Bay Weld aluminium passenger vessel underway in Kachemak Bay

Homer to Dutch Harbor · Lead Engineer

F/V Taurus

Lead engineer on a 58 ft seiner — season prep in Homer, three days to Dutch Harbor, then 17-hour days on the herring grounds.

View internship

Gear laid out on the Taurus deck in Homer

Sept 2026 – Present · Boulder, CO · Project Manager

Medtronic Surgical Robotics

Leading a 9-person capstone team shrinking a wristed surgical instrument from 8 mm to 5 mm for Medtronic’s Hugo robotic surgery system.

View capstone