Employee Spotlight: Meet Jacob Zepeda

Jacob Zepeda | Senior Contracts Analyst | Alameda, CA

Q. What is your current role at Penumbra?

I have two primary areas of focus as part of the Legal team. First, I work with the Sales and Commercial teams to facilitate getting our products to our customers. From the Legal side, this often involves drafting or reviewing contracts and other special offers and providing input on various operational matters. Second, I have more recently started working within the Privacy team to help expand the Penumbra data privacy program so the company is able to comply with recent privacy laws and regulations. This can mean facilitating vendor privacy risk assessments or creating other privacy related processes and resources.

Q. What drew you to Penumbra?

As part of an English class in high school, one of the assignments was to write a research-based paper. I decided to focus on how new medical technologies were impacting the healthcare landscape. I initially found out about Penumbra through a family friend and ended up getting the opportunity to visit the Penumbra campus and get a behind-the-scenes look at the company and its products. It was an awesome experience as a high schooler and is a large reason why I later wanted to work in the medical device industry.

Q. What aspects of your job do you enjoy most?

The Legal department is a service-oriented team that supports most other Penumbra teams to some extent. As a result, I have been able to work with many different people across many departments on various subject matters. I really enjoy that there is a constant flow of new things to work on, that I get to be a problem solver, and that I get to help others. Every day is a little different in terms of what may come up or who I’ll get to talk with, which keeps things fresh and interesting.

Q. Describe yourself at age 10. What career aspirations did you have at that age?

I was really into trains as a kid and, to me, I could think of nothing cooler than being a train conductor. There was just something fascinating to me about overseeing and driving a massive machine that could carry people and things all over the place. My family and I spent a lot of time at Tilden Park in the Bay Area riding the steam train (thanks, Mom and Dad).

Q. Describe a travel adventure that you’ll never forget.

I had the opportunity to spend a day with Asian elephants in the jungle of northern Thailand. The elephants at the sanctuary we visited were rescued from quite dire circumstances and were given a second chance at a good life thanks to the work of the organization we spent the day with. These elephants were like very large puppies – very playful, a bit mischievous, and very food motivated. We were able to hike with them, feed them literal tons of fruits and vegetables, and bathe them in the nearby river.

Q. What are three career lessons you’ve learned thus far?

• Stay curious and strive to learn at least one new thing every day.
• Step outside of your comfort zone when you get the chance, you never know what opportunities and personal growth may come from that.
• A little bit of extra effort can go a long way.

Q. What would people be surprised to learn about you?

I think people would be surprised to learn that I have a twin sister. Although my twin and I look similar in some ways, I would say our personalities are opposites. I am more introverted by nature, whereas my twin is quite the extrovert! Being a twin is neat and I wouldn’t give up the unique experience for anything. Also, because you may have been wondering, twin telepathy is kind of real.