Her Story
About Sara
Sara Aragon serves as Multi-Site Leader, Supplier Quality at Medtronic, where she leads teams handling supplier quality for incoming components, new product development, and manufacturing line issues across multiple sites. With 17 years in medical device manufacturing, her career began after working as a health inspector and teaching chemistry, drawn to the direct patient impact possible in the field. She previously led post-market quality for the mechanical circulatory support division, which produces life-saving devices such as artificial hearts for pediatric and adult patients. Her earlier experience includes quality engineering roles at smaller companies where she took on multiple engineering hats, building hands-on expertise. She holds a chemical engineering degree and certifications including PMP and Lead Auditor. Sara has received internal Medtronic awards such as Achievers Awards and the Put Patients First Award, and participates in internal groups including the guide team, women in engineering team, and women in leadership.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Sara
01What do you attribute your success to?
It's the hard work, the time spent diving in, understanding what problems to solve, how we can solve those problems, and really never giving up. Also the relationships you've built with people because there's so many people that help you along the way and open the doors for you.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Never stop learning. And always focus on relationships.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Build those relationships with other women who are in leadership roles. Help just talk about their successes, their pain points, understand where they've been. Listen more and learn more when you're at a younger age instead of going in to make change and prove your worth. Enjoy the ride. As a young woman engineer you've done the work, you've graduated the school, you're smart, you don't have to work so hard to prove yourself.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Moving product forward with long regulatory boxes and hoops that sometimes take 10 years to get something to market the right way. There's a gap in technological advances because systems internally are light years ahead but unable to bring to market due to regulatory pathways. We need balance to ensure products are tried and true and not going to cause harm to patient lives, but also get ahead to bring advancements faster.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Quality in general. I appreciate quality products not only in work and in my personal life. I enjoy quality people as well - genuine, true, honest, and hardworking are probably some of the main qualities that really resonate with me, and I try to shape the way that I work in the industry around those qualities as well.
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