Hardware Podcasts

S2E06 How to Find An Engineering Mentor, & the Bay Area’s Best Kept Secret – Barbara Allen

Being an Engineer · 12 Feb 2021 · 48m · Episode 6

What this episode covers

Barbara Allen, president and owner of Irwin and Associates, a medical device consulting firm, discusses her transition from chemical engineering to manufacturing and product design at Abbott, where she discovered her passion for the end-user impact of medical devices. She details how she bought the consulting company from its founder and maintains its culture by prioritizing high-quality, experienced consultants over rapid scaling. Allen also shares insights on the critical role of technical writing in medical device development, particularly for user manuals and regulatory documentation, and offers advice on finding engineering mentors and managing production teams effectively.

Most relevant to

companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Irwin and Associates, Abbott, Pipeline Design & Engineering, Greenlight Guru, WL Gore
Also
Purdue University

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