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“I'm always a huge advocate of women in engineering,” says Kyra Stawson.
It’s a Thursday afternoon, and Stawson, a technical sales engineer at the world’s largest digital manufacturing marketplace — which provides 24-hour quote responses — finally has a moment to sit down to chat after a busy sprint.
Xometry is headquartered Gaithersburg, Maryland, but the global company has offices across the United States, Europe, and Asia. Stawson is based in Kentucky, and as we talk via Zoom, one of her dogs is with her in her home office. The other one has been temporarily relegated to the living room because she “will literally bark at a leaf falling.”
Stawson is explaining what it’s like working in the rapidly growing field of injection molding. A form of manufacturing that’s been around since the 19th century, injection molding involves filling molds with molten material, oftentimes plastic, that hardens into a solidified part. It’s the most cost-effective method for making quality plastic parts at scale, and it offers a wider range of materials, surface textures, polishes, colors, and cosmetics than 3D printing and CNC machining.
For the past three years, Stawson has been working at Xometry, where anyone — entrepreneurs to large corporations — can upload a CAD file to the Instant Quoting Engine and receive pricing, lead time, and DFM feedback in mere seconds. Prior to this, she oversaw injection molding quality at Toyota.
“Keep an open mind with the industry,” the Penn State Behrend grad advises.
Sometimes she finds herself in positions that others could find daunting — like when someone much older and well-established in their field is on the phone to discuss an injection molding project — but for Stawson it’s exhilarating: “I'm the expert, and I'm under 30. It's super exciting. I just love that.”
As a woman working in injection molding, Stawson shares her advice for others looking to enter the field and grow their career.
Kyra Stawson (KS): There's always a stigma with women in these types of fields, but I personally love it. I strive to do the very best I can. I think a lot of respect comes with that as well.
KS: Knowing that you are the expert in the room goes a long way. Be confident.
KS: I support the sales team in having technical conversations to equip our diverse customers with the educational tools and key information they need to effectively and successfully design an injection molded part.
KS: I've been mentored by both men and women throughout my professional career. People do truly want to see women succeed in any type of STEM industry so it's really exciting. There are a lot of advocates out there to help.
KS: In my role, one of my favorite things is that injection molding really allows you to stay in touch with the time. You're not getting held back by the technology you're working in. Every day, you're learning. You get to engage directly with new products that are coming out on a daily basis.
I think it’s really fun to go to the store and see stuff that you had a part of designing or bringing to life. Especially here at Xometry, in my role specifically, I am so grateful to be able to help people bring their projects to life. It's really rewarding.
Image Credit: Moreno Soppelsa / Shutterstock.com
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