Carlos Penalbert recently joined the Ross Team. With 20 years of optics and thin-film coating expertise, Carlos brings a wealth of experience specializing in thin film engineering, sales, and a passion for customer satisfaction.

What is your professional background?
I have 20 years of experience in optics and thin-film coatings. I started off as a thin-film coating technician and worked my way into a managerial role and thin-film engineering. Within 8 years, I became an operations and sales manager. I enjoy every aspect of what I have learned throughout my career, from making the sale to developing the coating to producing the products for a happy customer.

What brought you to Ross?
The departure of Ross' previous coating/sales engineer provided an opening. I've known some of the employees at Ross Optical for some time now. We reconnected and mutually thought joining an incredible team would be a good fit.

Can you describe your role at Ross?
Primarily, my role is in thin film engineering and sales. I help maintain current and new clients.

Can you share a particularly interesting project you've worked on recently?
All new lens projects interest me, while many do not disclose the product. Knowing that microlens can go into many medical products is very interesting. In the end, helping a doctor and their patient. As I go into marketing, the position has me working on helping our customers have a stress-free way of contacting us and placing quotes on our website while educating our customers on our products. 

What challenges or questions do you address for customers?
Challenges are explaining to customers what coating works best for their application. Lead times, pricing, and availability are also widespread questions. Keeping costs and lead times down for customers has been one of our biggest challenges.

What trends do you see in the market?
Optics for high-power and defense applications have been very popular. We are also seeing many new ideas and projects in the development stages, mainly imaging systems. We work with customers as they do experiments, making sure the optical components will be a good fit for their programs.

What project are you most proud of at Ross?
I don't have a specific project to be proud of. I like to take care of all projects, no matter how big or small, with the same amount of pride and care.

What is your favorite part of working at Ross?
My colleagues. Everyone at Ross takes tremendous pride in their work, and all have the same goal. To provide an excellent product for our customers. 

What is something that people might not know about you?
I love sports. I've been a youth football head coach for 10+ years. I love to contribute to my community in any way I can.