Employee Spotlight: Siuma Montero Carranza, Electrical Designer

1. How did you come to do what you do? Was this a lifelong goal?
My journey to become an electrical designer started when I was a 2-year-old kid sitting on my mom’s lap as she was working on architectural projects with AutoCAD. I became interested in creating comfortable spaces for people back then, and later on learned soldering in elementary school and used that skill to make dollhouses out of cardboard with small incandescent light bulbs and batteries bought at a small warehouse back in my country.

When I arrived to the United States during my high school years, I was faced with the challenges of learning English quickly and trying to figure out what I wanted to become. Thanks to my curiosity, I took classes for technical drafting and for girls who wanted to explore engineering. My teacher at the time was a retired electrical engineer who influenced me greatly on my decisions. His stories resonated so much with what I wanted to do, and I decided I was smart enough to become the first female electrical engineering graduate in my family.

2. What do you enjoy most about your job? What motivates you?
The best part of being an electrical designer is learning the science behind how everyday electrical systems work in the real world. It is fascinating to see how applying that knowledge can help create new infrastructures. Also, I am happy to work together with a great team of experts that enjoy sharing their own knowledge and experience.

3. What makes you unique and different?
Many people described me from time to time as a bold person, despite having a soft voice when I speak. Whenever I know for sure safety is at risk, I try to bring up the issues to the table and help find solutions. My greatest priorities are safety and ethics every time I work on projects, and sometimes it takes some courage to speak up.

4. What are your favorite types of projects to work on?
My favorite type of projects to work on are those where I gain new knowledge. I enjoy having those an “aha” moments each time, and then share it with someone in the group. Many things I learned back in college started to make sense now that I have been working for three years in the field.

5. What are your future career goals?
I am currently working on passing the FE exam, then I will start the process to earn my PE certification.