Meet the women shaping the future of medical device solutions at Ensera: An International Women’s Day special

Who inspired you early in your career, and what advice would you give to young women considering a career in healthcare or STEM?

My curiosity for science started very early. When I was in Standard 3, before science was even part of the syllabus, a neighbor showed me her Standard 6 science textbook. I was fascinated that so many “why” questions about the world could be answered through science, and from that moment I knew this was the path I wanted to pursue. Even today, my hobbies – gardening, puzzles, cooking, and especially reading – reflect that same passion.

In many ways, my role in medical device project management brings all these passions together: staying connected to healthcare, solving complex problems step by step, and seeing a product move from concept to reality that ultimately benefits patients.

To young women considering a career in healthcare or STEM, my advice is simple: your gender does not define your limits. Follow what genuinely excites you, build your knowledge consistently, and learn from every person and experience along the way. Equip yourself little by little, and when opportunity comes, have the courage to step forward and seize it.

What career path led you to your current role, and what influenced you along the way?

Pursuing a degree in Biomedical Engineering, I had the idea that many students have of designing prosthetics and implants. Once entering our company as an intern in a biomed/mechanical engineering role, I learned about all the other aspects of product development and eventually discovered the world of Human Factors and usability, which I gravitated to immediately. After the first few years, I then transitioned to being an Human Factors Engineer full-time.

What drives the passion you have for the work you’re doing at Ensera today?

3 x “P” drives my passion: People, Patients, Products.

People – the colleagues I work with every day and the customers I collaborate with. They inspire me, challenge me, and motivate me to grow.

Products – everything we create at Ensera has a purpose: to help people. Contributing to solutions that make a real difference gives meaning to my work.

Patients – every time a new product is implemented at Ensera, I think about the patients who will ultimately benefit from it. They are the reason we strive for excellence.

What career path led you to your current role, and what were one or two pivotal moments along the way?

My first role was in a manufacturing company that produced customized garden furniture. This experience played a pivotal role in shaping my career path. It was where I took my first steps in sales techniques, project‑based product implementation, and discovered that manufacturing was the environment I truly wanted to work in.

The second major milestone in my career was joining a contract manufacturing company producing household cleaning detergents and cosmetics. Initially, I was responsible for cooperating with retail chains in Poland, a role that proved far more challenging compared to my previous experience with international customers.

After a year of searching for opportunities in different market segments, we secured our first contract manufacturing business that opened doors to foreign markets. That was the moment I realized how much I enjoyed problem‑solving sales and project‑based selling. I learned a lot especially about selling services, supporting customers through complex challenges, and implementing new products throughout the entire project lifecycle. All these experiences were valuable when I started my journey at Ensera 13 years ago.

What excites you most about the future of healthcare and technology, and women’s role in shaping it?

I think there’s a lot to be excited about how technology can further improve healthcare, for example by reducing wait times for diagnosis and improving treatment options. I’m especially excited about the potential for quantum technologies in healthcare, whether that is in sensing and imaging or miniaturizing technologies so that they can become more portable and reach people who might struggle to access them otherwise. Women’s healthcare has historically been under researched and underfunded so there is a big data gap in this area. This is frustrating but it’s encouraging that it’s starting to be addressed with groundbreaking research and technological development. I’m looking forward to this translating into more and wider reaching real-world impact on women’s lives. I’m also excited that there are more women taking up technical jobs and hopeful that companies are getting better at supporting and retaining diverse groups of talented people (across the board as well as gender specifically!). The diversity of thought that this will bring to technical teams as well as more women being involved in designing and building women’s healthcare solutions with experience and empathy can only be a great thing for progressing the field as well as improving healthcare solutions for everyone!

Looking ahead, what excites you most about the future of healthcare and technology, and women’s role in shaping it?

I am extremely excited that women have more opportunities and chances to develop their talents in healthcare and technology. Their technical skills, as well as their soft skills, can have a direct impact on real outcomes. The natural traits of women, including empathy and emotional intuition, are especially important in industry. Women’s leadership style, focused on collaboration and understanding, plays a significant role.

What career path led you to your current position, and what were one or two key moments along the way?

To be honest, my career path began very differently from my current position. I went to college to study journalism and worked for five years as a journalist until the company closed. Ten years ago, I saw the opportunity to work here at Ensera, and I never thought I would be able to change careers so drastically and enter a new world. At first, it was difficult to adapt, as it is a totally different field, but the values are always the same. I have always believed that no matter what position you hold, your commitment to your work should always be the same (respect, responsibility, and love for your work). I am very hard-working and I always like to challenge myself and give my best in every job I do. I started taking English classes because my first language is Spanish and I wanted to continue growing in the company. I started working at Ensera as a general operator, a position I held for less than a year. Then I was offered the position of Team Leader for the quality of my daily work. I held that position for about five years and then became Production Supervisor for almost four years. These three previous experiences gave me the opportunity to serve in my current position as Training and Safety Coordinator.

You’re one of the Sustainability Lab leads for Ensera Design, what drives your passion for designing sustainability into the product development process?

Sustainable design is necessary, inevitable and exciting. It’s necessary because “business as usual” is no longer meeting the present needs, let alone future needs. It’s inevitable since, without change, businesses (and societal and planetary systems) will fail. And it’s exciting because the scale of transformative shift needed is entirely possible via the mobilization of teams of curious, optimistic people.

Everyone benefits from products and services that are accessible, last longer and are made of sensible materials by people in fair working conditions. We’re limited by systems, not by individuals, and systems can be (and are being) redesigned. Check out Jon Alexander’s ‘Citizens’ and Rutger Bregman’s ‘Humankind’ books if you need a reminder of the decency of people.

Looking ahead, what excites you most about the future of healthcare and technology, and women’s role in shaping it?

Progress is happening and that momentum is towards fairer and lower carbon healthcare systems. Sustainable design is inherently human-centered. Environmental issues disproportionately affect marginalized communities, including women, BIPOC communities, disabled people, and those with the least political and economic power. By prioritizing distributive and reciprocal systems, sustainable design directly addresses these imbalances. In this way, sustainability becomes a pathway to social progress, as well as ecological stability.

Everyone has a part to play – people, communities, businesses, and governments. Here, women can choose whichever role(s) suits them – as leaders, facilitators, innovators, entrepreneurs, activists, teachers, storytellers.