Nicholas Filipkowski

Background

About Nicholas Filipkowski

A development engineer from the US living and working in Japan. How in the world did this happen? After graduating from a demanding program at Ohio State in Aeronautical & Astronautical Engineering and completing multiple internships at a NASA contractor, I took a challenging job as a Mechanical Engineer at a great company. There, I designed detailed HVAC and plumbing systems for various builds and rebuilds. However, I always had an itch to accomplish a lifelong dream of a completely different type: living and working in the marvelous country of Japan. In August of 2015, my biggest challenge to date began. I picked up everything, moved to Japan's Niigata Prefecture, and began work as an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) with JET. From that point forward, I focused all my energy on new, unique goals: learning and adapting to an entirely new lifestyle and culture, acting as a bridge between my U.S. community and my new Japanese community, and learning an entirely new language. Over those wonderful four years, I became an experienced and well-respected ALT, I worked to see my students succeed in their high school studies, university preparation, and beyond. As a Japanese resident and international bridge, I connected with my community through organizing educational events with foreign visitors for my students. Following the end of my time on JET, I moved to my wife's town to start our life together. Here, I returned to the engineering field at Utsunomiya, where I worked as a mechanical designer assisting with the design and manufacturing of CNC tool grinding machines in a fully Japanese environment. Using modeling software including iCAD, I ensured each machine executed the customer's desired functions. After over 7 incredible years in Niigata, I received an incredible opportunity to join the Tokyo-based gas microcontamination team as a development engineer at Entegris, a stellar company working to supply semiconductor manufacturers around the world with advanced technology solutions. I'm currently dedicating myself to learning all I can about pressure vessels, filter design, relevant Japanese standards/codes, and more as I strive to become a valuable and knowledgable contributor in line with Entegris's PACE values. As a JLPT N1 certification holder, I am also excited to continue using and developing my Japanese language skills at Entegris. Wherever I find myself in the future, I will be committed to developing as an engineer and using my foreign language skills to help create lasting connections between diverse communities around the world.