PRS Employee Spotlight - Joe Flanagan // Junior Amp Designer

In this Employee Spotlight get to know Joe Flanagan, a junior amp designer here at PRS! Having started as an intern for Paul Reed Smith, Joe now works with Senior Amp Designer Doug Sewell.

We asked Joe to walk us through a day in his life, and share some of his favorite memories during his time here so far. Enjoy the Q&A below!

How long have you been at PRS, can you tell us about how you started here?

Joe: I’ve been at PRS for nearly three years. I started as an intern for Paul and then went full time after a few months.

What got you interested in working with amplifiers?

Joe: I’ve played guitar for a long time but always found myself more drawn to the gear than actually playing. I’ve always been fascinated by amps and pedals and love to figure out how they work and what makes them sound the way they do, so when I got the chance to work on them for a living, it felt like the perfect opportunity.

What does a typical day look like in your role?

Joe: My main role is to work with our Senior Amp Designer Doug Sewell to design new amplifiers and develop them from an initial idea to a finished product. That means working on schematics, designing PCBs, creating parts lists, assembling and modifying prototypes, and all the other aspects that go into getting an amplifier ready for production. Since our amp department is a fairly small team, I also help out with the production of our US-built hand wired amps.

What is it like to work alongside Paul on some of your projects?

Joe: Working with Paul is great. He is so passionate about amps and audio in general, and is always pushing to find that extra little thing that will make a piece of gear “magic”. Whether it’s trying ten different capacitors to find the one that sounds best, or reverse engineering priceless vintage gear he is always searching for ways to make things better, which is really inspiring.

You also get to work closely with PRS Amp Designer Doug Sewell. What's the best piece of advice you've learned from him?

Joe: I’ve learned a ton working with Doug, so it's hard to pick out just one thing. He’s highly knowledgeable about all aspects of amps and is always happy to share that knowledge, so it's truly an honor to get to work alongside him. One thing I’ve picked up from him that will stick with me is to never stop learning. Even with his extensive experience both as an amp designer and as an architect, he is constantly researching and finding new ways to make our amps better. That curiosity and drive to improve is something I will carry with me throughout my career.

What projects have you worked on so far, can you talk a bit about the development of one of them?

Joe: The project I’m most proud of so far is the development of the Tempest GS 50/100. I worked closely with Paul on the design and we spent countless hours testing and carefully selecting every part. Over the course of about a year, we built roughly 15 different versions, constantly tweaking and refining every detail until we finally brought his vision to life. We also had valuable input from a few legendary artists who were kind enough to try the amps and share their feedback, which was an incredible experience.

Outside of work, what are some of your favorite hobbies?

Joe: A lot of my hobbies are actually pretty similar to what I do at work. I enjoy building custom amps, pedals, and tinkering with other electronics, but I also love cooking, watching F1, and I’m a huge soccer fan (Up the Toffees!).

What do you like most about working at PRS, do you have any memories or stories that stand out?

Joe: What stands out most to me is the people. Everyone I work with is talented, passionate about what they do, and genuinely friendly. That gives the whole company a unique atmosphere and makes it a great place to work.