Senior Quality Assurance Engineer/ Quality Assurance Engineer Supervisor

Bayer

Where did you train for your career? (undergraduate and graduate institutions, certifications or other training): I got my Bachelor's of Science in Biomedical Engineering with a minor in Chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh.

What qualities or skills are important in your career?: I think the most important qualities and skills in my career are having the ability to work well with others on a team, communication skills, attention to detail, and organizational skills. I work with many different types of people and roles on a daily basis. Therefore, it is important to interact well with others and communicate effectively. This also comes in hand since where I work, the plant is running 24 hours a day, 5 days a week so I don't always see the off-shift employees in person. Also, there are always numerous projects and challenges going on at work so it is important to remain organized.

What is a typical day like in your job?: Every morning a cross functional team consisting of quality assurance engineering, manufacturing engineering, planning, safety, production leadership, etc. meet to discuss how the plant ran in the last 24 hours. Specifically, we discuss safety incidents, quality trends, and delivery numbers. I then work on any projects and issues/non-conformances that have arose. My team works to fence, investigate, and correct non-conforming product whether it was caused by our production employees or the supplier of our raw material. I also manage a team that creates the paperwork packets for each batch of product we produce and also review and release them from our plant to sterilization and then from sterilization to our finished goods distribution center. Therefore, I spend time each day making sure this process is going smoothly, help in prioritizing their tasks, and work to make their processes more efficient.

What types of people do you interact with at your job?: I interact with other engineers, finance employees, production employees, planners, health and safety employees, amongst others.

Where do you work? (office, laboratory, factory, home, outdoors, etc.): I work in an office but I work in very close proximity to the manufacturing floor which consists of a cleanroom, boxing room, and warehouse. I often have to go into these environments for my job.

What do you wear to work?: I typically wear business casual clothes to work however casual clothes (i.e. jeans) are acceptable as well since we work so much on the manufacturing floor.

What are your favorite aspects of your job?: My favorite aspect of my job is the people I work with. I work with a tight knit group that cares a lot about each other and the work that they do. We work very well together and are great friends which really helps!

What are the most challenging aspects of your job?: The most challenging aspect of my career is trying to balance numerous projects and non-conformances at once. It can get very busy and overwhelming when it seems that everything is needed quickly. This is where working with a great team comes in handy; not only to help out, but also to help keep the mood light!

What is your coffee shop drink of choice?: White Chocolate Mocha!

What are some of your recent personal goals and/ or accomplishments?: My most recent accomplishment has been becoming a functional manager as of the first of the year. I may only have four direct reports but I've learned so much from being in this role already and am excited to continue to learn and lead!

Who are YOUR role models?: My role models are my parents. My mom is the most caring and kind-hearted person you'll ever meet. Her attitude and outlook on things are truly inspiring. In addition, my dad is the most hard-working person I know. He constantly has to be doing/accomplishing something and puts his all into everything he does. I think these characteristics of both of my parents have trickled down on me and have really helped me in my career in connecting with others and giving 100% in projects and tasks.

What do you like to do outside of work?: Outside of work I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, going to see live music (all genres but especially country), and being outdoors (camping, kayaking, etc.).