The Mycelium Engineer is an ongoing essay series, authored by Jake Winiski, exploring how fungi can be understood and designed with as active partners. Drawing from fungal biology, process engineering, and systems thinking, it translates the biological and behavioral logic of fungi into practical principles for research, design, and innovation in mycelium-based R&D.

Each essay bridges lab and landscape, theory and practice, outlining principles of growth, complexity, and decision-making that shape both fungal systems and the human ones built around them. It’s a field guide for designing through dialogue rather than control, and for cultivating rigor and curiosity in the company of fungi.