NAME: Kristin Barclay
CONCENTRATION: Engineering sciences S.B.
GRADUATION YEAR: 2014
TITLE AND COMPANY: Sr. Manufacturing Engineer at Carbon
Q. As an engineer, how are you making an impact?
A. 3D printing is a developing technology that is quickly maturing for the mass market through startup companies like Carbon. As a manufacturing engineer, my work enables mass production of 3D printed shoe midsoles (through Carbon's collaboration with adidas) with designs that would have been impossible five years ago. 3D printing is quickly moving from science fiction and simple prototypes into everyday products, and it's a very exciting industry to work in.
Q. What do you love about being an engineer?
A. I love that no two days are the same: my career so far has had a great balance of hands-on work, experimental design/analysis, and optimization problems all within different manufacturing industries. I've worked on everything from aluminum deposition on silicon chips to figuring out how to fasten screws more reliably in electric car battery packs to giving design-for-manufacturability feedback on 3D printed designs. Engineering always has more challenges to offer, and there is a big world of interesting problems to solve.
Q. What is unique, special, or interesting about your job?
A. I work on manufacturing development for adidas' 3D printed shoe products from initial concept to mass production. I work on every stage of the process—feasibility prints, design iteration, test development, pilot manufacturing, and more—to build a manufacturable product that is a joy to wear. My role involves close collaboration with adidas' shoe designers, Carbon's materials scientists, and contract manufacturing partners over the course of each new shoe design. I get to work on cutting edge products with brand new materials every day.
Q. What career advice would you give to current engineering students?
A. Use summer internships to try out different roles and different industries: focus on getting hands-on experience and trying out what seems the most interesting, and don't be afraid to look at smaller or more obscure companies. Engineering is so broad that it's difficult to tell which jobs would be good fits without having some industry experience.
