Welcome to another episode of Gen Z in Manufacturing, a podcast where I interview young people about their journeys in manufacturing, how they intend to influence the industry and what they are looking for from an employer.

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For this episode, I welcome Alexandra Bryant-Boose, a 27-year-old manufacturing automation engineer at Merck. Bryant-Boose became fascinated with manufacturing as she attended career fairs during undergrad at NC State. After earning a degree in chemical engineering with a concentration in biomolecular engineering and a double minor in microbiology and biotechnology, Bryant-Boose worked at Redbud Labs, a startup that develops microfluidic technologies.

After nearly two and a half years at Redbud Labs, Bryant-Boose transitioned to Merck and currently works as a specialist vaccine automation engineer, where her duties include preparing equipment for production, making coding updates to improve processes and troubleshooting daily issues.

Additionally, Bryant-Boose serves as a talent acquisition lead for Merck’s League of Employees of African Descent and co-leads a program that educates middle and high school students about careers in STEM.

Bryant-Boose was also recently named an Emerging Leader in manufacturing by the Manufacturing Institute’s 2024 Women MAKE Awards. 

In this episode, Bryant-Boose discusses:

• Does Gen Z see manufacturing as a “dirty job”
• How Gen Z can influence automation
• What kind of mentorship employers need to provide 
• Navigating an industry dominated by white males 
• Using Gen Z workers to expose children to manufacturing careers 
• Letting Gen Z mentor executives and older generations 
• Why students don’t know about manufacturing 
• Critiques regarding diversity in the workplace 

Download and listen to the audio version below and click here to subscribe to the Today in Manufacturing podcast.