Podcast

Women in MedTech at Neurent Medical: Brenda Egan and Norah O’Brien

  • From: Samiksha Gupta
  • Published on:
  • Last updated on:

High-Flyers in STEM: #GreatnessHasNoGender
Season 4, Episode 2

In this episode of High-Flyers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math’s) #GreatnessHasNoGender, Deirdre Finnerty sits down with Brenda Egan, Design Assurance Manager, and Norah O’Brien, R&D Manager at Neurent Medical, a company pioneering non-surgical treatments for chronic inflammatory sino-nasal diseases. 

Norah O’Brien and Brenda Egan discussing women in MedTech careers at Neurent Medical

Brenda and Norah take us through their winding career paths, from early school influences, twists of fate, and leaps into new roles, to their current positions where they help shape how medical device innovation can really matter. They reflect on how technical roles like design assurance can be as much about customer safety, precision, and rigorous standards as they are about problem-solving, and how R&D magnifies that through creative engineering and deep scientific curiosity. 

The conversation focuses on the importance of resilience through change, the value of mentorship, and finding your voice in environments both large and startup sized. Brenda shares what it’s like joining a start-up company, contributing to something from the early stages, and building culture and impact; Norah describes the logic, passion, and dedication needed to step into complex engineering domains and translate them into products people can trust. 

At Neurent Medical, their innovation is driven by science and people who lead with purpose and integrity. Brenda and Norah exemplify what it means to rise in STEM, combining technical excellence with empathy, courage, and collaboration. Their journeys are proof that leadership isn’t defined by title but by the impact you create. We’re honored to have these two incredible women share their stories and insights on our podcast. 

A huge thank you to our sponsor, Fenero, a multi-award-winning company specialising in financial success for contractors, freelancers, and solopreneurs. 

For more updates follow HERO on LinkedIn, reach out to hello@hero.ie, or explore exciting job opportunities in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math’s): Permanent Job Opportunities and Contracting Job Opportunities. 

Available now on YouTube, iTunes, and Spotify. 

Common questions

FAQs

FAQs

Brenda Egan was Design Assurance Manager and Norah O’Brien was R&D Manager at Neurent Medical at the time of recording. They joined HERO’s High-Flyers in STEM podcast to discuss their careers, leadership development and experiences working in medical-device innovation.

The episode explores career development in medical devices, design assurance, research and development, start-up culture, resilience and mentoring. Brenda and Norah also discuss finding their voices and creating an impact through technical leadership.

A Design Assurance Manager helps ensure that medical-device development follows controlled quality and design processes. The role can involve design controls, risk management, verification, validation, documentation and collaboration with engineering, quality and regulatory teams.

An R&D Manager leads or coordinates the development of new products and technologies. The role can include setting technical priorities, supporting engineers and scientists, managing development risks and ensuring that product concepts progress through testing and design transfer.

Design assurance helps ensure that product requirements, risks, testing and design decisions are documented and controlled. This supports product quality, patient safety and confidence that the device is suitable for its intended use.

A MedTech start-up can give employees broad responsibility and the opportunity to influence products, processes and company culture at an early stage. It can also involve changing priorities, limited resources and the need to work across traditional functional boundaries.

A mentor can provide perspective, practical feedback and encouragement during periods of career change. Mentoring may also help technical professionals build confidence, understand leadership expectations and identify development opportunities.

Neurent Medical develops medical technology for chronic inflammatory sinonasal conditions. Its NEUROMARK system uses radiofrequency technology to target posterior nasal nerves associated with chronic rhinitis.

HERO advertises permanent and contract opportunities across R&D, quality, engineering, validation, manufacturing and other STEM disciplines. Candidates can search current vacancies or upload a CV through the HERO website.

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