Internships get a lot of airtime, but what happens after you’re hired?

In this episode, Alicia and Justine talk candidly about mentorship, the kind that actually works. Not the clunky HR programs or forced pairings, but real, human mentorship built on trust, curiosity, and mutual respect.

They dig into what makes a good mentor, why one-size-fits-all management fails, how mentoring others sharpens your own skills, and why so many engineers end up figuring things out alone. From pairing junior engineers with senior staff, to seeking mentors outside your department, to simply asking “where do you want to go?”, this conversation is about paying it forward without sucking the soul out of it.

If you’ve ever wished you had better guidance, or wondered how to support the next generation without turning it into a checkbox exercise, this one’s for you.

Swetha is Queen

This week on Womanufacturing, Alicia and Justine sit down with someone very special: former coworker, naming-genius of the podcast, recent UCLA grad, and now automation powerhouse — Swetha.

Swetha shares her journey from confused high-school STEM kid to mechanical engineering major to discovering her love for automation and systems-level thinking. We talk internships, owning entire systems as a new grad, what healthy mentorship looks like, the magic of scrappy dev work, and the thrill of bringing machines to life.

She also gives an honest look at stepping into her first full-time role in automation at SpaceX — the culture, the mentors, the “fail safe and fail fast” mindset, and the responsibility of building things that will live far beyond the intern era.

This episode is packed with wisdom from a fresh engineer who’s already thinking like a seasoned systems lead. Swetha is insightful, humble, hilarious — and absolutely a queen.

If you're early in your career, mentoring someone, or just love hearing women take up space in engineering, this one will light you up.

In this episode, Alicia and Justine get real about the power of internships, the good, the awkward, and the transformative. From Alicia’s wild summer on a remote Alaskan island to Justine’s first taste of engineering in a polymer lab, they unpack how early experiences shape who we become as professionals.

They also explore what makes a great mentor, why “try before you buy” is the best career advice, and how building relationships during internships can pay off years (or decades) later. Whether you’re a student wondering where to start or a manager thinking about hiring interns, this one’s for you.

In this episode of Woo Manufacturing, Justine and Alicia sit down with longtime entrepreneur and automation badass Adrienne Harvey to talk about her unconventional journey from running an early e-commerce business to building Ignition systems and speaking on stage at Inductive Automation’s ICC.

Adrienne shares how a summer internship at a bakery plant sparked a lifelong curiosity for how things work, why asking “stupid” questions is actually the smartest move you can make, and how creative problem-solving connects everything from shipping logistics to machine learning to control systems.

The conversation touches on everything from on-call chaos and plant tours to Excel “3D drawings,” industrial acronyms gone wrong, and the joy of automation that just works.

Tune in for laughs, curiosity, and a reminder that the best engineers are the ones who never stop asking why.

Ever been the one keeping everything running — without any official authority? In this episode, Alicia and Justine get real about leading without the title. From wrangling cross-functional teams to navigating egos, they share how influence, empathy, and integrity can move mountains (even when politics and bad actors try to block the path). Expect stories from the plant floor, lessons learned the hard way, and a few laughs about the chaos that comes with getting sh*t done when no one technically reports to you.

#WomenInManufacturing #Leadership #Influence #Integrity #WorkCulture #Womanufacturing

This week, Alicia and Justine welcome a very special guest, Alicia’s cousin, Bailey! 🎉 From Montana to France and now to New England, Bailey’s journey as a chemical engineer has been anything but ordinary. She dives into what it was like moving abroad during COVID, learning French, and mastering yogurt production at scale. We chat about the art (and headache) of plant mass balance, why food and beverage manufacturing is more technical than people think, and the cultural differences she’s noticed working in factories in France versus the U.S. Oh, and we can’t forget the love story she brought home with her! 💕

In this episode of Womanufacturing, Alicia and Justine open up about the realities of moving for work — from the excitement of new opportunities to the challenge of starting over. They share personal stories of uprooting for careers, finding (and sometimes struggling to find) community in new places, and what it feels like to go from confident expert to newcomer overnight. Whether you’ve relocated for a job or are considering it, this candid conversation explores identity, belonging, and the balance between career ambition and personal connection.

In this episode of Womanufacturing, Alicia and Justine sit down with Dr. Zöe Steine-Hanson, PhD, a research scientist at OpenBCI. Zöe’s work bridges neuroscience, computer science, and ethics, exploring how brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are being developed today — from invasive neural arrays used in epilepsy research to open-source EEG systems that make neurotechnology accessible outside the lab.

We dive into her path from PhD research at the University of Washington to her current role in industry, and what she’s learned about the differences between academia’s power dynamics and the realities of building technology people actually use. Along the way, Zöe shares insights on gender bias, problem-solving styles, inclusivity in tech design, and why it’s so important to consider who gets left out when new technology goes mainstream.

If you’ve ever wondered how close we really are to “mind-reading” machines, what the future of neurotech might look like, or why diversity and ethics matter just as much as hardware and code, you won’t want to miss this conversation.

Alicia and Justine dive into the intoxicating pull — and hidden costs — of startup life. From the thrill of building something from scratch to the subtle ways boundaries erode, they unpack how a sense of mission can morph into relentless grind. Was it just dedication… or were they caught up in a full-blown “CULTure”?

If you’ve ever wondered why smart, capable people give everything to a company — and what it takes to break free — this episode pulls back the curtain on the playbook nobody talks about.

Guest Spotlight: Abe Coir, Manufacturing Engineer at Leatherman 🔧

In this episode, we sit down with Abe Coir to talk about what it really takes to scale manufacturing processes for millions of tools a year—and why collaboration between design and operations is everything.

Abe shares stories from across the manufacturing spectrum: from union shops to startups in garages, from being the only woman in toxic environments to finally landing at a company that gets it right. We cover:

• What it’s like to work at Leatherman and why cross-functional respect matters

• The ups and downs of job-hopping in search of better fit and better culture

• Safety horror stories (hello, hydrofluoric acid in a beaker 😱)

• Why standing up for safety is worth it—even if it means walking away

• The importance of internships, meaty engineering roles, and practical jokes

This one’s equal parts hilarious, honest, and deeply validating for anyone who's been underestimated on the floor or in the lab.

🎙 Powered by lived experience, sharp commentary, and a literal soapbox.

#womanufacturing #leatherman #manufacturingengineer #processsafety #careerpath #engineeringculture