igus - Nicole Lang

2021 Women in Engineering

Nicole Lang

Product Manager igus

B.A., Psychology, Political Science, Roger Williams University

J.D., Law, Roger Williams University School of Law

Instead of pursuing a potential career as a sports agent, Nicole Lang supports engineers, original equipment manufacturers and other machine building specialists solving challenges on behalf of igus, inc. She started with the Germany based manufacturer of motion plastics in entry level positions in 1998 while pursuing a college degree, and has risen to an executive role as the Product Manager for the company’s bearings.

Talk about the culture at your company. What makes it inclusive or supportive of women in engineering and automation?

igus has always made me feel like I am part of the group no matter my gender. Although in the beginning of my career I worked primarily with males, they never treated me like I was less. Worldwide the culture at igus is that we are part of a team that shares in success. igus has always fostered an environment to facilitate growth. I’m proud to say that over the years there are more female applicants and success stories, and I am thrilled to see it.

Give us an example of your involvement in: a design project, a product launch, the development of a new technology, or the adoption of a new technology or process.

As I climbed the corporate ladder, I found the lessons I learned while studying law could also be applied in engineering. Others ask, ‘Why with a law degree are you not pursing that?’ – and my answer is no one can ever take your education away. I use those skills daily, so it wasn’t a waste. I like to think it helped enhance how I work as a product manager. I use my law degree at igus quite a bit in looking at business contracts, but at the end of the day what excites me is working on applications and helping engineers solve their problems. I worked with a manufacturer of lab equipment who experienced contamination from bearing systems that required lubrication. The contamination affected samples. A lot of variables came into play. This was a new design for them and they used all of our methods to get the right product/material. They fi rst started with SLS Printing to check the geometry and do actual testing which worked great, then on to machining. We later molded parts. They have since requested some other design changes to accommodate other issues with the design (unrelated to bearings). We are working with them to ensure that we can solve all of their issues and make the process as easy as possible while getting them parts that work perfectly in the application. I really appreciate what engineers do and how important their work is to society. Learning about their projects really helped me decide that this is what really made me happy. At igus we believe very strongly that we do not ‘sell’ our bearings in the typical sense of the word. Instead, we work with engineers and educate them on our products and ways they can help solve some of their issues. The collaborative nature is something I really appreciate. In the end engineers make the decision that is best for their project. We help support this by providing technical support and samples.”