FORT WAYNE —The talent pipeline for Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) students is wide and far-reaching in northeast Indiana. Just ask Jordan Zuppe, a talent acquisition specialist at Zimmer Biomet and graduate of IPFW.

“Zimmer Biomet had a relationship with IPFW previously, but we’ve worked hard to build that relationship and it has resulted in recent hiring opportunities for IPFW students.”

One such IPFW graduate, Julian Velazquez, was looking for career opportunities and applied to a paid internship through the Co-op office at IPFW. The internship was a success and Velazquez applied for a quality development program engineer position at Zimmer Biomet through a posting on IPFW JobZone.

“It was the perfect scenario,” said Zuppe. “Julian got rave reviews from his internship and we were excited to have him join our team.”

Velazquez received his job offer during the last week of his internship and joined the Quality Development Program at Zimmer Biomet following graduation in December. The program involves three- to eight-month rotations, targeting entry level quality engineers to develop leadership opportunities. Velazquez will rotate through post-market trauma surveillance, product design and/or manufacturing, and operations.

“I’m sure I wouldn’t have this position without the internship opportunity through IPFW,” said Velazquez.

Zuppe agrees. “It has been great to find talent right in our backyard and have students take advantage of internship opportunities and resources to decide whether a company is a good fit for them.”

For now, Velazquez is settling into his new role and enjoying the challenges of his job while learning how diverse the field is.

“I’d urge all IPFW students to take advantage of networking and hands-on experience because you never know where it will lead.”

For more information on internship and career opportunities, visit the IPFW Career Services website. For more information about Zimmer Biomet and their talent acquisition program contact Zuppe at [email protected].