Meredith Biechele
John Deere
For outstanding contributions to systems engineering, product design, and sustainability; and for dedicated service to SWE through recruiting, mentoring, and inspiring girls’ interest in STEM.
Meredith Biechele is an advanced research and development engineer focused on electrified solutions at John Deere’s Turf and Compact Utility Business Unit in Cary, North Carolina. In this role, she works with key product stakeholders to design and build electric vehicle solutions that address emerging customer and business needs.
Biechele has led the development of two battery-electric commercial concept mowers. The results of her work have demonstrated and matured system electrification in operational environments. The concept mowers provided a platform from which to collect and analyze data, which enabled product teams to translate customer needs into technical requirements. Using her background in systems engineering, she completed a swappable battery engineering study that provided recommendations for meeting future customer needs and energy demands. Her work in the field of electrification will advance multiple products to commercialization in John Deere’s Turf and Compact Utility Business Unit and contribute significantly to its 2030 goal of reducing carbon emissions by 30%.
Previously, Biechele was a member of the Engineering Development Program at John Deere in Moline, Illinois. As a member of this selective program, she built a strong technical foundation through various rotations in design, testing, sustainability, and systems engineering. Her greatest accomplishments include acting as a drone pilot to monitor combine engines in the field and calculating more than 1.5 million kg of CO2 savings by establishing 10 Design for Environment goals for new product programs.
Biechele is the co-founder and chair of John Deere’s Sustainability Impact Group, a global employee resource group, where she led an initiative to install electric vehicle charging stations at the office and started a composting program. Outside of work, she serves as a Young Alumni Advisory Board member on North Carolina State University’s college relations committee, and she is on the campus recruiting team.
She joined the Society of Women Engineers in 2018 and is an active member of John Deere’s SWE network. She has served on its communications committee, conference committee, and Empower and Engage committee. Through these roles, she has screened and interviewed hundreds of women and volunteered at “Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day,” a John Deere-sponsored STEM outreach event reaching hundreds of local girls. Biechele has also attended and recruited at the SWE annual conference for the past four years. She was selected to speak at WE22 in Houston, Texas, and gave a talk titled, “Yes and … An Interactive Improv Workshop for the Working World.” She continues to serve as John Deere’s campus liaison for the North Carolina State University SWE Section.
Biechele holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering with honors from North Carolina State University and a certificate in systems design and management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She lives in Durham, North Carolina, where she enjoys rock climbing, working on 3D printing projects, and performing improv comedy.