Eugene Kaneko and the OXO Good Grips daikon grater he helped design. The daikon, a sweet, mild Asian radish with crisp, juicy flesh, is an important ingredient in Japanese cuisine.

Photo credit: Courtesy OXO International

Name: Eugene Kaneko (B.S.’01 ME)
Company: OXO, New York
Title: Product engineer since 2004
Former job:
Field engineer in Kobe, Japan, for National Instruments

Q.        What’s a normal day at the office like?
A.         Mostly communicating with designers and manufacturers. I’m responsible for the Japanese market. I worked on a daikon radish grater and spent a lot of time on the comfort of it. You can grab the grater and press your palm on the table at the same time. We did a lot of testing on the gratings—10 iterations of the blade—to get a grate that isn’t too watery or too stringy and is still crunchy.

Q.        Do your friends ask you for discounts and free samples?
A.         Yes. They always ask and I feel guilty when I don’t give them stuff.

Q.        Do you cook?
A.         A lot, actually.

Q.        What’s your favorite OXO product?
A.         I love the Good Grips Pro Peeler. It isn’t too light, it’s not too heavy. And when you’re peeling vegetables it’s effortless. It’s a dream. It sounds crazy, but it makes peeling fun.

Q.        Favorite product you’ve worked on?
A.         The OXO Good Grips POP Containers. They’re stackable countertop food storage devices you can open and seal with one hand. They have a big round button that doubles as a handle. It pops up when you push on it and releases the lid, then seals the container when you press on it again. This season’s Iron Chef is using them for spices and pastas.

Q.        How does OXO test its products?
A.         We have a big kitchen here. It’s probably the most heavily used room in the office. When we get a new prototype in, we invite people to come in and cook. We watch them work with ladles, skimmers or miso strainers over a couple days and ask them questions. We basically have people make lunch for us. After each testing, someone gets on the PA and announces that there’s food in the kitchen, and it’s a mad rush to get there.