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

- Show: [Being an Engineer](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer)
- Published: 2021-02-12
- Length: 48m
- Episode: 6
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2021-02-12-s2e06-how-to-find-an-engineering-mentor-the-bay-areas-best-kept-secret-barbara-a
- Listen: https://teampipeline.us/find-an-engineering-mentor/

## Summary

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.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2021-02-12-s2e06-how-to-find-an-engineering-mentor-the-bay-areas-best-kept-secret-barbara-a#t=0) Introduction: Barbara Allen and Irwin and Associates
- [1:15](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2021-02-12-s2e06-how-to-find-an-engineering-mentor-the-bay-areas-best-kept-secret-barbara-a#t=75) Career Path: From Chemical Engineering to Medical Devices at Abbott
- [10:05](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2021-02-12-s2e06-how-to-find-an-engineering-mentor-the-bay-areas-best-kept-secret-barbara-a#t=605) Buying and Running Irwin and Associates
- [17:36](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2021-02-12-s2e06-how-to-find-an-engineering-mentor-the-bay-areas-best-kept-secret-barbara-a#t=1056) The Importance of Technical Writing in Medical Devices
- [25:29](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2021-02-12-s2e06-how-to-find-an-engineering-mentor-the-bay-areas-best-kept-secret-barbara-a#t=1529) Production Management and Quality Systems
- [39:12](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2021-02-12-s2e06-how-to-find-an-engineering-mentor-the-bay-areas-best-kept-secret-barbara-a#t=2352) Finding Mentors and Career Development

## Topics

- [Careers & education](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/engineering-careers-and-education)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Quality & yield](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/quality-and-yield)
- [Direct-to-consumer & e-commerce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/direct-to-consumer)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Irwin and Associates (company)
- Abbott (company)
- Purdue University (other)
- Pipeline Design & Engineering (company)
- Greenlight Guru (company)
- WL Gore (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [#452: Switching Careers to MedTech: A Practical Guide for Engineers and Professionals](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/global-medical-device-podcast/2026-03-23-452-switching-careers-to-medtech-a-practical-guide-for-engineers-and-professiona) (Global Medical Device Podcast)
- [Meet a Guru: Laura Court](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/global-medical-device-podcast/2021-05-19-meet-a-guru-laura-court) (Global Medical Device Podcast)
- [How Being Strategic During A Career Transition Can Yield The Best Opportunities](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/global-medical-device-podcast/2020-06-11-how-being-strategic-during-a-career-transition-can-yield-the-best-opportunities) (Global Medical Device Podcast)
- [180: Hardware Startup Tips for Non-Technical Founders](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-06-15-180-hardware-startup-tips-for-non-technical-founders) (Product Startup)
- [133 - A Year of Saying No, Advice & Good MedTech Consulting, Humility in Leadership, andToxicity in Teams with Devon C. Campbell](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/lets-combinate/2024-04-24-133-a-year-of-saying-no-advice-good-medtech-consulting-humility-in-leadership-an) (Let's Combinate)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2021-02-12-s2e06-how-to-find-an-engineering-mentor-the-bay-areas-best-kept-secret-barbara-a. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Being an Engineer.