While historically there has been a gender imbalance in engineering professions, there are now more opportunities and support networks for women pursuing careers in this field. Many women have become successful engineers, developing and implementing innovative solutions to complex problems, and serving as mentors and role models to others. However, there is still work to be done to achieve gender equality and promote diversity in engineering, and many organizations and individuals are working to address these issues.
Maureen Lincoln, PE, is the founder and CEO at Kerelaw Engineering, P.C., a product design and engineering agency located in the Bronx. She previously served as the company’s principal engineer from its inception in 2016 until 2019. Ms. Lincoln holds a degree in mechanical engineering from MIT and has always been passionate about math and mechanics.
Throughout her career, Ms. Lincoln has focused on product design, development, and innovation while emphasizing manufacturing and job creation. She has honed her technical training, mentoring skills, and team-building abilities to develop strong engineering teams and product development programs that consistently meet business and market goals.
Ms. Lincoln’s expertise in new product design and development has been proven in the automotive, industrial, consumer, and medical industries. Her comprehensive perspective has supported successful product launches that meet both business and market goals. Ms. Lincoln and her team at Kerelaw continue to use their technical expertise and successful methodologies to provide clients with engineered solutions that meet market expectations while looking great and functioning as required.
Best Design and Development Offerings
Kerelaw Engineering provides product design and development services for independent inventors, entrepreneurs, start-ups, and small businesses. With a unique business model that incorporates both engineering and industrial design from the very beginning of the development process, the company delivers product designs that look great, feel good, work as expected, hit cost goals, and meet market expectations.
The company was founded in 2016 by Maureen Lincoln. Her vision was to create a design agency that enabled clients to create and grow their companies through new product launches.
Combining Distinctive Processes and Work Culture
Kerelaw’s staff is highly talented, with a diverse skill set in engineering and design, but that’s only the minimum required to maintain a business in this service sector. However, what truly sets the company apart and has made a significant impact on the industry is its unique approach to the Agile product development model, customized for tangible product design.
Moreover, the company’s success can be attributed to its inclusive culture of mutual respect and open communication, which extends beyond its employees and embraces every client as an essential and valued member of the team. This approach has fostered trust and enables Kerelaw to deliver exceptional solutions across various product offerings and markets, including highly sensitive technologies and applications.
As the founder and CEO, Maureen aims to lead by example and serve as a positive role model for her team, prioritizing the company’s core values of integrity and excellence. She emphasizes the importance of consistency, ensuring that both values are reflected in every aspect of the business, from design work to daily operations and how employees treat one another. The ultimate goal is to maintain a work environment where excellence and integrity are palpable and permeate every aspect of the company culture.
Driven by Passion
Maureen’s passion for engineering has driven her career, from a staff engineer to a C-suite executive and has motivated her to start Kerelaw as a way of giving back her knowledge and experiences to help others achieve their dreams. She is grateful for the strong sense of purpose and support from her family that have made it easy to take this leap of faith.
At Kerelaw, Maureen is responsible for generating and managing client projects and mentoring her staff. The most enjoyable part of her daily routine is the team huddles, where the team members can check in on each client project and connect with each other.
Maureen is committed to recruiting team members with the required skills and experience, but she also values individuals who are excited to come to work, passionate about the work they do, and who have a genuinely kind and pleasant personality.
Empowering Women Engineers
Maureen’s background is mechanical engineering (BSME, MIT), with over 35 years of new product development experience in the consumer, medical, automotive, and industrial markets. Just before founding Kerelaw, she began her MBA at the Zicklin School of Business to fill in the gaps her engineering career did not offer, such as financial management.
At the start of her career, Maureen aspired to be recognized as an engineer without any gender-specific labels. However, she was disheartened to see many talented young women engineers opting for operational roles that involve more team interaction, such as project management. This led her to become an advocate for mentorship and cross-functional development projects, aiming to support and encourage young women engineers by sharing her experiences and promoting team-based opportunities in the field.
Maureen is committed to her own leadership development, learning from other women leaders and educational programs. She has observed a remarkable group of emerging leaders, including interns who participate in Kerelaw’s program. Maureen believes that tomorrow’s best leaders must be committed to hard work, maintain a focus on integrity, excellence, and purposeful accomplishments to achieve lasting success.
Competing to Get Better
According to Maureen, the present era is remarkable due to the swift development of technology, which can now offer solutions that were previously considered unattainable. Maureen cites additive manufacturing as a prime illustration of this progress. To stay abreast of the latest technological advancements, Maureen and her team engage in networking, attend tradeshows, and keep up with industry literature. Additionally, they utilize the company’s connections with nearby colleges, including their internship programs, to stay informed of ongoing research and emerging business techniques. She says, “We welcome competition. It only makes us better.”
More Refined Approaches in the Future
Maureen considers Kerelaw to be fortunate to have gained several international clients from North America, South America, and the Middle East, as well as technical colleagues in Europe and Asia over the past year. The inclusion of these regional perspectives and competencies has resulted in the development of product designs that appeal to a global audience, which has been an exciting prospect for the company.
Moving forward, Maureen’s goal is to expand Kerelaw’s in-house manufacturing capabilities to conduct pilot production runs for clients, providing the opportunity to identify and address any issues or cost-saving opportunities before proceeding with full-volume production. This approach will enable the company to refine its production processes and deliver high-quality products to its clients while maintaining its commitment to excellence and integrity.
Written by Steve Sanchez.
