Welcome to Womanufacturing—where grit meets greatness in industrial innovation. Hosted by Alicia and Justine, two bold women in manufacturing, we pull back the curtain on factory floors, startups, and the stories behind the machines. We’re not here to tiptoe—we’re here to talk truth. From automation to mentorship, we dive into what it’s really like to lead in a male-dominated space. Whether you're an engineer, founder, or factory-curious, expect real talk, big laughs, and even bigger ideas. Let’s build something better—together.
Ep. 19 - John Webster: From Intern to Industry in a Startup World
In this episode of Womanufacturing, we sit down with John Webster, an old colleague, former intern, and now seasoned startup engineer, to talk about what it really means to grow up in a startup world.
John shares his journey from graduating during COVID, moving countries for an internship, and being thrown into high-pressure manufacturing environments where learning happened fast, documentation was optional, and teamwork was everything. Together, we talk candidly about internships that actually teach you something, sink-or-swim startup culture, mentorship done right (and wrong), and how asking the right questions can change the trajectory of your career.
We also dig into:
Why internships are one of the most underrated career tools
The realities of working at startups vs large companies
How culture shifts as organizations scale
What it’s like to go from mentee to mentor
Staying mission-driven in clean tech and manufacturing
And why “figuring it out together” matters more than having all the answers
This conversation is honest, funny, and deeply relatable for anyone early in their career, mentoring young engineers, or navigating the chaos of fast-growing companies.
If you’ve ever learned the hard way, grown through pressure, or bonded over keeping equipment alive, this one’s for you.
3 Jan 2026
Ep. 18 - Thriving in Chaos: An Adult ADHD Diagnosis
What if the thing you’ve been fighting your whole life… finally has a name?
In this deeply personal episode of Womanufacturing, Alicia opens up about receiving an ADHD diagnosis as an adult, and how it reframed decades of anxiety, burnout, overachievement, people-pleasing, and thriving in chaos.
Joined by Justine, this conversation isn’t about checklists or stereotypes. It’s about what ADHD can actually look like in high-performing women, engineers, founders, and leaders who were never “bouncing off the walls” — just constantly thinking, constantly caring, constantly pushing.
They talk about:
• Late-in-life diagnosis and why it’s more common than we think
• ADHD, anxiety, and depression — symptoms vs. root causes
• Why some brains need pressure, deadlines, and complexity to function
• Startup chaos, systems-level thinking, and the myth of “attention deficit”
• Rebuilding self-trust, confidence, and self-compassion after naming the pattern
• Learning when ADHD is a superpower — and when it needs support
This episode is for anyone who’s ever thought:
“Why can’t I just be normal?”
“Why do I work best when everything is on fire?”
“Why am I exhausted even when I’m successful?”
If you’ve ever felt misunderstood by your own brain, you’re not alone.
Naming it is the first step toward healing.
14 Dec 2025
Ep. 17 - Mentorship Without the Corporate Weirdness
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.
21 Nov 2025
Ep. 16 - Girl, Don’t Go to Med School — Pick Automation (Swetha)
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.
8 Nov 2025
Ep. 15 - How Internships Build Confidence, Careers, and Connection
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.
18 Oct 2025
Ep. 14 - Ask the Damn Question: Lessons in Curiosity and Clarity with Adrienne Harvey
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.
5 Oct 2025
Ep. 13 - Leading Without the Title: Influence, Integrity, and Getting Sh*t Done
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
20 Sept 2025
Ep. 12 - From Baguettes to Balance Sheets: Bailey’s Yogurt Engineering Journey
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! 💕
7 Sept 2025
Ep. 11 - Moving, Meaning, and Making Community
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.
22 Aug 2025
Ep. 10 - Brains, Bias, and Breaking Barriers with Dr. Zöe Steine-Hanson
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.
8 Aug 2025
Ep. 09 - Snacks, Shares, and Sacrifice: Inside Startup CULTure
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.
25 Jul 2025
Ep. 08 - Soapboxes, Safety Goggles, and Sh*t That Shouldn’t Be Legal
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
11 Jul 2025
Ep. 07 - Cowboys, Carpet Dwellers, and Control Panels
This episode dives into the messy, hilarious, and sometimes dangerous transition from school to the manufacturing floor. We unpack early-career mistakes, cowboy engineering, the Dunning-Kruger effect, and why safety rules exist for a reason — especially when hydrogen’s involved.
We also talk about the disconnect between theoretical design and real-world execution (hello, carpet dwellers) and how to build an internal compass when you're still learning the ropes.
Whether you're new to the field or managing the next generation of engineers, this one’s got stories, lessons, and a few hot takes.
28 Jun 2025
Ep. 06 - Text Book to Production Floor - What They Don't Teach You in Engineering School (Part 1)
Podcast hosts Alicia and Justine explore the practical realities of engineering beyond textbooks, discussing mentorship, project management, and the importance of asking questions in real-world scenarios.
6 Jun 2025
Ep. 05 - Escalate, Educate or Let It Go? Choose Your Own Workplace Adventure
Hosts Alicia and Justine explore uncomfortable workplace situations, such as awkward comments and feeling disrespected, providing tools to handle them effectively and build confidence to speak up.
23 May 2025
Ep. 04 - Taking Up Space: Confidence, Conflict, and Calling It Like It Is
Hosts Alicia and Justine explore strategies for women to confidently express themselves and navigate conflicts in male-dominated workplaces, emphasizing self-advocacy and amplifying diverse voices.
10 May 2025
Ep. 03 - The Zero Principle with Lola Vars
Lola Vars introduces the Zero Principle, which questions if we are solving the right problem, and discusses the emotional cost of working in male-dominated spaces in an interview with Alicia.
25 Apr 2025
Ep. 02 - Shift Work, Shutdowns, and Getting Sh*t Done
Industry experts discuss the realities of shift work in manufacturing, sharing plant floor stories and questioning common practices, offering camaraderie and relatable insights.
11 Apr 2025
Ep. 01 – Steel Toes and Sharp Tongues: Kicking Off the Conversation on Women in Manufacturing
The hosts of Womanufacturing introduce the podcast's mission to share authentic stories from women in manufacturing, aiming to foster a supportive community and promote inclusivity within the industry.
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Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
3 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 26 / 100
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YouTube
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Engagement
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