General Motors

During my job search, my broad skill set in various technical disciplines — such as infrastructure planning, scripting, front-end and back-end development, database administration and network administration — helped set me apart from other candidates. This demonstrated my ability to work across multiple disciplines and adapt to new technologies.

Additionally, my positive attitude, passion and drive expressed during interviews made a significant impact with the hiring manager. My experience in multiple programming languages showcased my versatility and ability to quickly learn and apply new coding languages as needed.

The combination of my technical expertise, proficiency in multiple disciplines and experience in multiple programming languages helped set me apart from other candidates.

My job at GM hasn't just met my expectations — it has exceeded it. I have the freedom to work independently and come up with creative solutions. I work in a lab setting where I explore and experiment with different technologies.

New things are always on the horizon and each new project brings new challenges and excitement. My current project is a full-stack web-based tool for managing physical test assets and performing automated testing. I am excited to come to work each day because I get to develop innovative technologies that don't yet exist.

I've even submitted my work for multiple inventions and have been granted a patent.

GM took a chance on me even though my background didn't directly line up with the job I accepted. They saw my potential to learn quickly and apply the skills I've learned in the last 6 years in the auto industry to a new area.

Apart from being one of the best places to work in the auto industry, there are 3 compelling GM values: 1. Actions toward inclusivity & diversity. 2.

Investment in employee well-being and growth. 3. Developing new fleet to ensure sustainability.

I was recently promoted to lead HR technology strategy and operations, covering areas of talent acquisition, onboarding, offboarding and performance management. Moving internally within GM has allowed me to work in three different business functions at GM — IT, HR and identity and access management — and has helped me develop the skills needed to support a diverse group of stakeholders in my current role.

Over the past 10 years at GM, my work assignments led me to develop an "enterprise thinking" approach — connecting people, processes and technology to deliver various key initiatives and technology projects. My initial roles were more technical — working with data and system architecture.

I was able to leverage this technical experience during human capital management implementations and add-on consulting and strategic orientation to my skill set. I embraced opportunities to engage in strategic discussions with leadership and drive innovative solutions to real business challenges.

These experiences with various functions at GM have naturally prepared me to take on broader leadership responsibilities. I leverage my technology background, consulting skills and strategic orientation to work on adopting new technologies like AI that will shift the way we do work and deliver efficiencies at the enterprise level.

At GM, there's a strong focus on career development, where leaders are encouraged to have regular career conversations to help employees align their goals with the skills needed for future roles. I've benefited from this growth-focused culture myself and have also supported my team members in transitioning to roles like field HR and change management.

It all starts with honest conversations about career aspirations and creating opportunities that support their journey.

I joined GM for a number of reasons. I wanted a new direction in my career in the EV field. I also wanted to pursue a career in an environment that is encouraging, diverse and inclusive, all of which I have found at GM.

To me, innovation means a willingness to take big risks, move forward without having every answer and course-correct effectively along the way. Without these innovation-driven processes, it would be easy to miss opportunities or spend months spinning without action.

One great example is how we're integrating Cruise and GM technologies. In a very short time, the team leaned into knowledge-sharing sessions, explored multiple paths through proof-of-concepts and relied heavily on the RFC process to document ideas, gather feedback and iterate quickly.

These practices kept us out of silos, helped us avoid over-planning and allowed us to move quickly without losing alignment. This approach led to immediate wins, like connecting GM's highway data to new infrastructure, and opened up potential like using an onboard mining strategy to capture rare events by leveraging GM's large vehicle fleet.

Both instances fill important gaps where we historically lacked coverage. These initiatives are still ongoing, and I'm excited about the momentum and possibilities they're bringing.

I'm currently working on ADAS projects. I enjoy working in the new technology space because it allows me to think creatively and come up with innovative ideas to solve problems.

I want my team members to feel like they're working with me, not for me. So, I make myself vulnerable to my team. I share my failures and ask for help.

Likewise, I try to create an open, safe and trusted environment for them to discuss their challenges. I share my success stories to inspire them to realize their career aspirations.