Women in STEM at West: Aine Brennan and Samantha Murphy

Watch the West Podcast Episode

The conversation explores how two different educational and career journeys led to senior responsibilities within manufacturing.

Samantha explains how she moved from a Bachelor of Arts that included mathematics into engineering. Aine shares how encouragement from a teacher changed her view of her technical ability and influenced her decision to study Mechatronic Engineering. Listen to the episode through the Spotify and Apple Podcasts players below, or explore the full High-Flyers in STEM podcast series.

Meet Aine Brennan and Samantha Murphy

Aine Brennan

Aine’s interest in engineering developed after a mathematics teacher encouraged her to recognise her technical ability. She went on to study Mechatronic Engineering and gained experience within the medical-device industry before joining West as an Automation Engineer in 2018. Her career later progressed into value-stream leadership. In the episode, Aine discusses managing self-doubt, building professional relationships and the importance of managers who take the time to understand an employee’s strengths.

Samantha Murphy

Samantha initially completed a Bachelor of Arts incorporating mathematics before reconsidering the direction she wanted her career to take. After developing a clearer understanding of engineering as a profession built around creativity and practical problem-solving, she returned to education and completed an engineering qualification. She later built a career in MedTech manufacturing and progressed into business-unit leadership. Samantha discusses resilience, learning from failure and why career changes should not be viewed as evidence that an earlier choice was wasted. 

Samantha and Aine reflect on the defining experiences that have shaped their careers, from tackling challenges head-on to seizing opportunities that reshaped their perspectives. They discuss how the mentorship and inclusive culture at West champions female leaders, enabling them to grow and empower their teams. Their stories demonstrate the real impact of equity, diversity, and inclusion in creating meaningful change within workplaces and beyond. 

What You Will Hear in This Episode

Aine and Samantha discuss:

• Moving into engineering through traditional and non-traditional routes
• Developing confidence during periods of career change
• Progressing from technical positions into manufacturing leadership
• The influence of teachers, managers, mentors and professional networks
• Why visible female leaders matter in technical workplaces
• Creating clearer technician and apprenticeship pathways
• Building teams in which people feel supported to develop
• Advice for women considering careers in engineering and manufacturing

These themes come directly from their experiences and from the initiatives discussed during the recording. Exact representation figures should only be added where the site, measurement period and supporting data have been confirmed.

From Technical Expertise to Leadership

Both guests describe careers that developed one opportunity at a time.

Aine’s route began with mechatronics and automation before expanding into responsibility for a wider manufacturing value stream. Samantha’s journey began outside engineering before leading towards technical education, MedTech manufacturing and business-unit management.

Their stories show that progression into leadership is not based on technical knowledge alone. It also requires communication, adaptability, judgement and the ability to help other people perform well.

The full career story is explored in HERO’s companion article, Mentorship and MedTech: Aine Brennan and Samantha Murphy’s Career Journeys.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

West Pharmaceutical Services designs and manufactures packaging and delivery systems used with injectable medicines. Its work supports pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical-device companies around the world.

West reports more than 1,000 employees across its Irish operations, which include manufacturing facilities in Dublin and Waterford and global business functions in Blanchardstown. Its Irish career pathways include graduate development, apprenticeships, student placements and further-education support. The job titles used on this page reflect Aine’s and Samantha’s positions at the time the episode was recorded.

Explore More Women-in-STEM Episodes

Continue the series with:

Women in STEM at Cook Medical: Fiona King and Annemarie Beglin

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

Women in STEM at Boston Scientific: Aoife Carter and Claire O’Brien

You can find every season on HERO’s Greatness Has No Gender podcast hub.

Episode Sponsor

This episode was sponsored by Fenero, which provides financial and administrative services for contractors, freelancers and independent professionals.

For more updates on #GreatnessHasNoGender, follow HERO on LinkedIn [LinkedIn URL], reach out to hello@hero.ie, or explore exciting job opportunities in STEM Permanent STEM jobs, Contracting STEM jobs.