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The Road Less Traveled: Erick’s Unexpected Career Change From Engineering to Global Innovation

April 8, 2026
by Carrie Hall

A Master of Arts degree might seem like an unusual choice for an engineer.

But for Erick Mahnke, a recent graduate of OU Online’s M.A. in Art and Technology, this unconventional move was a crucial part of his career transformation from specialized engineer into global innovation leader.

Foundations of Innovation

Mahnke was raised in Georgia, on scenic Lake Lanier. He was a creative child who enjoyed building things, fixing broken parts, and completing hands-on projects — like turning old car speakers into a stereo — with his machinist grandfather.

As he grew up, his creativity and penchant for building never wavered.

Mahnke earned an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering while working seasonally through the Disney College Program. After graduating, he completed professional internships in project management and special effects. He advanced to a full-time Special Effects Designer role at Disney, then spent four years in the position.

A Career Crossroads

The COVID pandemic hit theme parks hard in 2020. As a result, Mahnke was laid off.

He started a creative engineering consultancy with his wife to make ends meet, but was constantly seeking full-time roles aligned with his experience.

“I had put in all this time at this amazing job,” he said. “I didn’t want to go backwards.”

But the job hunt was much more challenging than Mahnke had expected. As time passed without any suitable offers, he began to see that his background was too specialized.

“That was an ‘Aha’ moment for me,” he said. “I realized I really needed to invest in myself.”

Seeking Professional Growth Opportunities

After months of job searching, Mahnke was rehired at Disney as a manufacturing manager. The role offered stability, but he missed building, designing, and creating experiences.

His creative urges, paired with the post-layoff realization that he needed to broaden his skill set, left him yearning for a career change and sparked a search for new professional development opportunities.

Mahnke weighed graduate school options. He initially considered an MBA — the “go-to” degree for leaders looking to level up. As he researched programs, he suddenly stumbled upon another kind of master’s degree. A Master of Arts that seemed tailor-made for his interests and aims.

Why OU Online’s Art and Tech Program Stands Out

The M.A. in Art and Technology program at OU offered the perfect blend of technical skill and creativity that Mahnke was looking for, in the flexible online format he needed.

Its comprehensive curriculum and interdisciplinary nature really stood out.

“I saw (the program)… as a way for me to be a cross-functional leader,” he said.

He applied, got accepted, and began an exciting new chapter.

Shifting Gears

Mere months after entering the program, Mahnke’s sister-in-law sent him a link to a job posting: Senior Engineering Manager at Coca-Cola. Although he thought the position was out of reach, the role’s focus on design, innovation, and cross-functional leadership was tempting. His wife convinced him to apply.

His first daughter was born on September 13, 2022. He had his first interview with Coca-Cola just four days later. He completed a few rounds of interviews, received a job offer, and accepted the role.

It was a new position, at a new company, in a new industry.

This career change forced him to question the program’s continued relevance. In his view, the program was perfect for his work at Disney, but didn’t really align with his new job.

Staying the Course Amidst Chaotic Circumstances

Mahnke was enjoying the courses too much to turn back. So, he decided to continue the educational expedition for personal reasons.

Throughout this time, he experienced several major life transitions. He sold his house. He and his wife bought a new home in a new state, then renovated it while raising their newborn baby. He faced challenges like imposter syndrome and steep learning curves as he adjusted to his new role.

Changing careers while working full-time and navigating these hectic circumstances was no easy task. “It was a crazy, crazy time in my life,” he recalled.

Thanks to accommodating professors, the program’s flexibility, and the unwavering support of his loving family, he successfully made the career switch from engineering while managing his coursework and his other responsibilities.

“The flexibility of the program was amazing,” Mahnke said. “I can’t thank them more for being flexible with what was going on.”

Exploring Hands-on Interdisciplinary Learning Opportunities

Mahnke forged ahead in the Art and Tech program, taking full advantage of its interdisciplinarity and expansive scope by:

Immersing himself in the broad and innovative curriculum, covering topics ranging from interactive experience deployment to the philosophy of science.
Deepening his knowledge and widening his perspective through engagement with people from around the globe, across a range of industries.
Cultivating practical cross-functional capabilities like pitching, problem-solving, and rapid adaptation to emerging tech.
Enhancing his creative capacities through endless creative experimentation.

Thanks to extensive hands-on practice with diverse technologies, he also developed new technical skills. Some of these skills — even ones that initially seemed unrelated to his new role — later proved incredibly impactful in his day-to-day work. For example, his sharpened video editing and storytelling abilities now enable him to better convey creative visions, while his expanded UI/interaction design skills strengthen his digital interfacing and prototyping work.

Investigating Individual Interests

Because the Art and Technology faculty encourage individual exploration, Erick also dove deep into his own unique interests.

He used Unreal Engine and Arduino to integrate physical hardware with interactive digital content. He experimented with video creation and innovative experience design. He blended his engineering background with the creative skills he developed in the program to complete his capstone project — an immersive, multi-layered, and interactive bar experience called “TikiTech”.

Learning how to connect digital environments with physical systems ended up being hugely beneficial for Mahnke, as it now helps him bridge the design-engineering gap in his current position.

Unexpected Impacts and Outstanding Outcomes

As the program came to a close, Mahnke was pleasantly surprised by its undeniable relevance to his role at Coca-Cola. “I never expected it to correlate,” he said. “But it always seemed that I could relate what we were doing back to work.”

He graduated with expanded skill sets, enhanced learning capacities, and a robust portfolio showcasing his creativity. He emerged as a better cross-functional leader with a broader background, a more innovative approach, and improved experience design capabilities.

“This program is what pushed me to the next level,” he said. “Beyond just being an engineer, to being an innovation and experience designer with both an art and an engineering background. And a better engineer.”

These remarkable outcomes have empowered Mahnke to excel at Coca-Cola and transformed him into a well-rounded professional ready for whatever lies ahead.

“I never would have imagined how much (the program) would help me grow in my career,” he stressed. “And I can’t say that enough.”

Beyond Graduation: Limitless Potential

Mahnke made another mid-career change in October 2025. He switched to an even more exciting role at Coca-Cola: Senior Engineering Manager of Global Equipment Innovation.

He now designs beverage experiences all around the world with “the dream team of innovation and strategy,” an incredible cross-functional collective of leaders. It’s an innovation hub that experiments with new technologies, explores industry trends, and builds early-stage prototypes.

Mahnke leads the engineering side of those early-stage concepts, turning ideas into functional, testable hardware. His new role enables him to leverage the technical skills he learned in the program, tap into his enhanced creativity, and experience new cultures — from Turkey to Switzerland.

He looks back on his journey from mechanical engineer to global innovation leader with a Master of Arts as a testament to his resilience.

“Transitioning to a completely different career path was scary,” he said. “But I think my story is proof that anybody can do it as long as you stick with it and continue to put the time in to develop yourself.”

Forge Your Own Path to Professional Growth

Mahnke’s inspiring story is a reminder that charting one’s own course can fuel remarkable growth. It illustrates that professional breakthroughs happen when you follow your passions, embrace the unexpected, and persevere through tough times.

Looking to make a career change without hitting pause on your life?

Embark on your own journey to professional fulfillment with OU Online’s Art and Technology M.A., an interdisciplinary program designed to push the boundaries of innovation and elevate your creative career.

Take the first step today by learning everything you need to know about the program.