What’s the best part about life at GM?
The best part about life at GM is the ability to constantly interact with the vehicles we are designing and building. There are many industries where engineers never get to touch or hold the products and technologies they work on, and we are lucky to be able to drive the cars we make and see them on the road every day.
What does my typical day look like?
I am almost always doing an in-vehicle test or analyzing data from a previous evaluation. A large portion of my job is collaborating with Cruise Automation in San Francisco on our autonomous programs, and as an Autonomous Performance Engineer, it’s my job to ensure that the car and controls systems are working correctly and working together, which equates to hours of integration testing at our Milford Proving Grounds.
What’s been my most exciting project to date?
Working on the Cadillac Super Cruise has been the most exciting and challenging program I have been a part of. It was a unique project in that we designed and launched a truly hands-free driving experience for the highway – there were many late nights and creative solutions developed for never-before-seen problems, but experiencing Super Cruise on the road was truly rewarding.
What’s the most unexpected skill I’ve gained at General Motors?
How to handle a Corvette at 150mph.
What opportunities at General Motors have boosted my career growth?
The biggest opportunity I have had for both career and personal growth has come from interfacing with executive leadership at GM. When issues arise, it’s my job to root cause the problems and develop proposals for a technical solution, and a large part of the process is presenting to the program leaders. This not only helps with visibility outside of my immediate organization, but has bolstered my communication skills and confidence to present my findings and ideas.
