Women in STEM at TE Connectivity: Marilyn, Deirdre and Colleen

Watch the TE Connectivity Podcast Episode

The three guests bring different professional backgrounds to the conversation.

Marilyn discusses moving into manufacturing after working in acting and singing. Deirdre explains how her interest in problem-solving led towards mechanical engineering and later R&D leadership. Colleen reflects on a career that developed through IT, lecturing, corporate training and project management before progressing into PMO leadership.

Together, they explore what happens when careers develop in directions that were not obvious at the beginning, how transferable skills can support a move into STEM and why learning continues long after someone enters the workplace.

Listen through the existing Spotify and Apple Podcasts players below.

Meet Marilyn Bane, Deirdre Hardiman and Colleen Markland

Marilyn Bane: From the Performing Arts to Manufacturing

Marilyn was Production Supervisor at TE Connectivity at the time of recording. Her route into manufacturing began outside STEM. Before entering industry, she worked in acting and singing. Moving into manufacturing therefore required her to learn a new environment, new processes and a new professional language. The experience also showed that changing industries does not mean leaving every previous skill behind.

Communication, adaptability and confidence when working with other people remained useful as Marilyn developed her manufacturing knowledge and progressed into production leadership. Her story is particularly relevant for people who assume a non-technical beginning closes the door on a STEM career. Some roles require specific technical qualifications, but others allow people to build specialist knowledge through workplace experience, additional education and practical responsibility.

Marilyn’s longer career story is explored in HERO’s article on TE Connectivity women in STEM.

Deirdre Hardiman: From Mechanical Engineering to R&D Leadership

Deirdre was R&D Product Development Engineering Manager at TE Connectivity at the time of recording.  Her route into engineering developed from an interest in problem-solving and an ability to visualise how things fit together. Mechanical engineering gave her a technical foundation, while later product-development work exposed her to the wider process of developing and transferring products.

Engineers moving into management must also learn how to set priorities, support other engineers, communicate decisions and coordinate work across different functions. In a medical-device environment, that can include collaboration with manufacturing, quality, regulatory, programme management and other technical teams. Deirdre’s experience also highlights the value of accepting work that stretches existing capability. Career development is not always the result of waiting until every requirement feels familiar. Often it comes from taking responsibility for a more complex project and developing the skills required to deliver it.

Colleen Markland: From IT to PMO Leadership

Colleen was PMO Leader EMEA at TE Connectivity at the time of recording. Her career developed through several connected areas rather than one narrowly defined profession. She studied information technology before gaining experience in lecturing, corporate training and project management. Those different stages helped build a combination of technical understanding, communication and programme-delivery experience that later supported her move into PMO leadership.

A Project Management Office helps organisations establish how projects are prioritised, governed and monitored. Depending on the organisation, a PMO leader may be involved in portfolio planning, reporting, resource coordination, risk management and project-delivery standards. Colleen’s journey demonstrates how careers can evolve by combining earlier experience rather than replacing it. Someone moving from engineering or another technical discipline into project leadership can read HERO’s guide on how to move from engineering into project management.

What You Will Hear in This Episode

Marilyn, Deirdre and Colleen discuss three very different routes into STEM leadership. The conversation covers Marilyn’s transition from the performing arts into manufacturing, Deirdre’s progression through mechanical and R&D engineering, and Colleen’s move from IT and training into project-management leadership. They also explore transferable skills, learning outside a comfort zone, moving from technical delivery into responsibility for other people and the role mentors and colleagues can play in career development. The episode is based on their own experiences rather than presenting one route as the correct way to build a STEM career.

About TE Connectivity in Galway

TE Connectivity’s Galway campus is the headquarters of its Medical business. The site supports medical-device research and development, product development, prototyping, testing and manufacturing. Its capabilities include work on components and assemblies used in minimally invasive medical technologies.

TE’s PROPELUS Prototype Center in Galway provides rapid-prototyping capabilities including 3D printing and laboratory testing, helping development teams evaluate concepts before commercial-scale manufacturing. This combination of R&D and manufacturing activity creates career paths across product development, manufacturing engineering, process engineering, quality, project management and operational leadership.

Candidates researching the wider sector can also read HERO’s guide to medical-device companies and careers in Ireland.

TE Connectivity Galway Update, July 2026

In July 2026, TE Connectivity announced an automated 3D-printing process developed at its Galway PROPELUS Prototype Center for manufacturing catheter shafts. The development is separate from Marilyn, Deirdre and Colleen’s December 2024 conversation and should be presented as a later company update rather than something discussed during the podcast. The update provides useful current context for the type of product-development and advanced-manufacturing work associated with TE Connectivity’s Galway operation.

Episode Sponsor

Thank you to our sponsors Fenero, a multi-award-winning company that specialises in the financial success for contractors, freelancers and solopreneurs.  For more updates on #GreatnessHasNoGender, follow HERO on LinkedIn, reach out to hello@hero.ie for inquiries, or explore job opportunities in STEM Permanent Job Opportunities, Contracting Job Opportunities.