Michael J. “MJ” Klein's manufacturing experience spans approximately four decades and includes production engineering, tooling and test, process development, manufacturing documentation, training, international sourcing, and supplier management. Much of his career has been spent as an independent consultant rather than in positions defined by conventional corporate titles.
Manufacturing Engineering
Klein began in manufacturing as an assembler. By 1980, while building professional tape-recording equipment, he was independently designing and machining production tooling to improve assembly accuracy, consistency, and efficiency. His work subsequently expanded into machining, mechanical and electrical test fixtures, process engineering, production systems, documentation, troubleshooting, and training.
His experience on the production floor strongly influenced his later engineering and management practices. Klein regarded production personnel as an important source of process knowledge and gave individual operators the authority to stop production when they identified a potential quality problem.
This reflected a broader principle he applied throughout his professional work: responsibility must be accompanied by appropriate authority. Klein applied the same standard to himself and has declined assignments when he did not believe he possessed the competence or authority necessary to accept responsibility for the outcome.
Process Engineering and Knowledge Transfer
As a consultant to an internationally recognized exercise-equipment manufacturer, Klein was engaged to document manufacturing operations and develop formal production procedures.
Beginning in 1999, he incorporated digital photography into manufacturing documentation to reduce ambiguity in written work instructions. His assignments later included documenting specialized welding operations and developing a cross-training program that preserved skilled process knowledge while increasing the versatility of the existing workforce.
Klein was also responsible for transferring an electronic assembly operation from California to Massachusetts. After analyzing the existing process, he redesigned a seven-station assembly line as a compact two-station production cell that achieved greater output with substantially less manufacturing space.
These and other assignments developed unusually broad manufacturing competence spanning assembly, machining, tooling, test, process engineering, documentation, quality, production transfer, line design, training, knowledge capture, and manufacturing management.
International Manufacturing
Klein's work subsequently expanded into international manufacturing, sourcing, supplier development, product realization, and manufacturing troubleshooting.
He relocated to Taiwan in 2004 and has worked within Taiwan's manufacturing environment since then. His consulting work has included translating customer requirements into practical manufacturing specifications, evaluating suppliers and processes, resolving production problems, and managing communication between customers and manufacturers.
His approach emphasizes technical competence, transparency, ethical conduct, and long-term supplier relationships.
Broadcasting and Professional Audio
Klein has professional experience on both the technical and creative sides of recording and broadcasting.
In professional audio, he progressed from musician and recording artist into work as an audio engineer/producer, with experience in recording, mixing, mastering, studio and live systems, equipment evaluation, and system integration.
His broadcasting career developed in the opposite direction. Klein was initially trained as a broadcast engineer by Grady Moates, whose instruction had a significant influence on his development as an engineer. He later moved into on-air broadcasting and eventually hosted a nationally broadcast talk-radio program.
The combination gave Klein substantial experience both behind and in front of the microphone, as well as in communicating technical and complex subjects to non-specialist audiences.
Technical Publishing
Klein has also founded and managed independent technical communities and knowledge resources, including Behringer.World and NAMFORUM, a community devoted to Neural Amp Modeling and related capture technologies.
These projects continue an approach established much earlier in his manufacturing work: identifying valuable technical knowledge, organizing it, documenting it, and making it accessible to others.
Current Work
Klein remains professionally active across several of these fields. He continues to accept selected mixing and mastering projects, works with current professional-audio and music technologies, and provides technical evaluation and product feedback.
Recent work has included the introduction and evaluation of a professional loudspeaker system for a Taiwanese audio manufacturer. During evaluation, Klein identified audible distortion and issues involving system EQ and gain structure. The manufacturer subsequently revised the product's voicing and firmware before continuing its development; the product later achieved sufficient commercial success to lead to a second-generation version.
Klein has also begun working in independent filmmaking, with a particular interest in soundtrack composition and the integration of music, audio, and visual storytelling.
He remains active in international manufacturing and sourcing, technical publishing, audio technology, and the development of independent technical knowledge resources.