Meet Our People: Mike, Applications Engineer

When Mike Bayliff joined Zuken USA as an Applications Engineer in March 2026, he was new to the company, but certainly not new to E3.series.

In fact, Mike’s history with E3.series goes back nearly two decades.

As an Electrical Design Engineer at AGCO Corporation in Hesston, Kansas, Mike spent 10 years designing electrical systems and wiring harnesses for Massey Ferguson windrowers. It was there that he first began working with E3.series and attending Zuken Innovation World, even presenting at the event several times as a Zuken customer.

Now, almost 30 years into his career as an electrical engineer, Mike has found himself on the other side of those conversations, helping the engineers he once sat alongside.

A Major Upgrade, to Say the Least

Mike’s path into electrical engineering has taken him through companies including Lucent Technologies, CNH Construction, Big Dog Motorcycles, and AGCO, where he eventually managed a Research and Advanced Engineering team.

One career move, however, came with a pretty significant upgrade in design tools.

Before joining AGCO, Mike worked as an Electrical Engineer at Big Dog Motorcycles, where wiring harness designs were created using Microsoft Paint.

Yes, Microsoft Paint.

So when Mike began using E3.series at AGCO, the difference was significant.

“Moving to E3.series was a bit of a shock, but in a good way,” Mike said. “Going from Paint to a purpose-built electrical design tool like E3.series was a major step forward, to say the least.”

That experience became the beginning of a relationship with Zuken that would eventually bring Mike onto the Zuken USA Customer Support team.

When Nobody Remembers Your Name

After recently completing his 90-day onboarding program, Mike is now getting a closer look at E3.series from an entirely new perspective.

Despite his years of experience with the software, joining Zuken has shown him just how much more there is to discover. Most of Mike’s previous E3.series experience was shaped by the processes and workflows he used at AGCO. His onboarding allowed him to expand beyond that perspective and become familiar with tools and capabilities he hadn’t needed in his previous role.

“There is so much depth to E3.series that I think the one constant throughout my career at Zuken will be continuous learning,” Mike said.

Now, Mike is shadowing hotline calls and learning the customer support side of the business from his fellow Applications Engineers. And ultimately, Mike hopes to use that experience to help other design engineers through challenges he understands firsthand.

The Other Side of the Hotline

After more than 25 years in design engineering, Mike knows the frustration of software not behaving as expected, the pressure of a looming deadline, and the satisfaction of seeing a design become a real product.

He also knows that good electrical harness design often goes unnoticed.

“If a harness has a zero percent failure rate, nobody thinks twice about it because everything simply works. But when something goes wrong, people tend to remember the engineer’s name.”

Mike hopes his experience can help customers remain the often-unnoticed heroes behind the scenes by providing the knowledge and support they need to solve problems, avoid mistakes, and become more confident and self-sufficient in their work.

Case of the Mysterious Support Call

Mike’s typical workday looks quite different from the days when he drove 50 miles each way to AGCO.

These days, his commute begins after Daisy, his Golden Retriever, and Cammie, his American Cocker Spaniel, have had breakfast. Only then, according to Mike, is he allowed to have his coffee.

From there, he checks email, reviews his Planner, and sets his priorities for the day. When he is monitoring the customer hotline, there’s another part of his personality that gets to come to work.

“Growing up, I always wanted to be a detective but became an electrical engineer instead,” Mike said.

Customer support gives him an opportunity to be a little of both.

Each new support request gives Mike another problem to investigate and a solution to track down. When he isn’t shadowing calls, Mike reviews previous cases and solutions, studies E3.series tools and workflows, and documents what he learns for future use with AI-powered knowledge tools.

He has also been exploring E3.fluid and speaking directly with hydraulic design engineers to better understand their workflows and how the software can support their design processes.

A Different View from the Podium

Mike may still be early in his Zuken career, but he has already experienced a meaningful milestone.

For ZIW 2026, Mike worked alongside Brian Atwater to develop a Tips and Tricks presentation on a shorter-than-usual timeline. By combining their experience and knowledge, the pair created a session that earned a perfect 4.0 review score from attendees.

The score was rewarding, but the feedback mattered even more to Mike. Attendee comments showed that customers left the session with new techniques and knowledge they could apply in their own work.

There was also something particularly fitting about standing at the front of that room.

Mike had presented at ZIW several times before, but always as an AGCO customer. ZIW 2026 marked his first presentation as a member of the Zuken team.

For someone whose relationship with Zuken began years earlier from the customer side, it was a full-circle moment.

About Those Hallway Conversations…

Moving to a remote position was one of Mike’s concerns when joining Zuken.

Throughout his career, some of his best “ah-ha” moments happened through spontaneous conversations in hallways or at a colleague’s desk. He wondered how much of that collaboration he might lose outside a traditional office environment.

What he found instead was a team that prioritizes collaboration, regardless of distance.

“Everyone is always willing to help, share their knowledge, and add a little lightheartedness to the conversation,” Mike said. “It’s not about who gets the credit or whose idea wins. Instead, people genuinely want to help each other succeed.”

And he has noticed that the mindset extends beyond Customer Support.

While Zuken USA has distinct teams and responsibilities, Mike says those boundaries can sometimes be difficult to see in everyday work because everyone shares the same focus: helping the customer.

“No matter what department we’re in, there is a shared belief that we’re all part of customer service, and I think that mindset is one of Zuken USA’s greatest strengths.”

Road Runners, Motorcycles, and Breakfast Stops

Outside of work, Mike’s time largely revolves around his family, including Stephanie, his wife of more than 25 years, their three adult children, and their six-year-old grandson.

Mike and Stephanie also run a custom keepsake business that combines her artistic talents with his technical skills. With a laser engraver, a 3D printer, woodworking tools, and plenty of creativity, they make one-of-a-kind gifts and keepsakes. Mike often builds the wooden frames for Stephanie’s artwork, meaning a little bit of his handiwork makes its way into the gallery alongside hers.

The Road Runner Will Run Again. Eventually.

He enjoys tinkering with old cars and motorcycles and maintains that one day his 1969 Road Runner Convertible will finally make it back onto the road.

Motorcycles, meanwhile, have been part of his life for generations. His father passed the passion down to him, and Mike has since shared it with his own son. His favorite rides don’t necessarily require a destination, although there is one important rule.

There needs to be a good breakfast stop somewhere along the way.

When he isn’t in the garage, Mike can occasionally be convinced by Stephanie to trade wheels for a kayak or hiking trail. He also enjoys cooking for his family and tending the smoker, although hiking and kayaking certainly help offset some of the calories.

As Mike continues to settle into his new role at Zuken, he brings with him nearly three decades of engineering experience, years spent on the customer side of E3.series, and an understanding of the challenges engineers face when there’s a problem to solve and a deadline approaching.

And after years of attending ZIW, using E3.series, and learning from Zuken as a customer, he now has an opportunity to return the favor.

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Every career has a story behind it, and Mike’s is just one of many across Zuken. Stay tuned as we continue highlighting the people, perspectives, and experiences that make up our Zuken family.

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