Women Reshaping Manufacturing: Liliana Valdez Martinez Of Siemens Mobility North America On The Five Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career In Manufacturing
An Interview With David Leichner
Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty: It doesn’t matter how much you move up. Always understand your product, support your teams. Work side by side with them.
In recent years, there has been a significant increase in interest surrounding the manufacturing sector. Historically, this industry has been dominated by male workers, with women constituting only about 30% of the workforce. What is the experience like for women working in such a male-dominated field? What challenges do they face, and how can they contribute to improving the industry? What does it take to establish a highly successful career in manufacturing? Additionally, what exciting advancements and innovations are US companies making in high-tech manufacturing, and what can we expect in the near future? How can the US emerge as a high-tech manufacturing powerhouse? To address these questions, we are talking to women leaders of the manufacturing industry. As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Liliana Valdez Martinez.
As a production manager with Siemens Mobility North America, Liliana Valdez Martinez leads a team of 120 employees in their manufacturing sub-assembly department. A true servant leader, Liliana inspires her team to see their critical role in transforming raw materials into the trains commuters ride across the U.S. every day.
Over her eight-year career at Siemens Mobility, she has helped move the needle to promote a positive and safety-first culture. As a hiring manager, she has made an active effort to further diversity, equity, & inclusion, is incredibly passionate about mentoring the next generation of female talent in the rail industry, and she works diligently to improve exposure for women in the transportation and manufacturing industries.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started in manufacturing?
My name is Liliana Valdez Martinez, I am a Production Manager for Siemens Mobility in Sacramento, California and have been in the manufacturing business for almost 10 years now. My hometown (Torreon, Coahuila, Mexico) is basically known for their manufacturing industry, and it is very common for schools to visit different facilities to show students what we produce in the area. During a field trip in high school, we went to a facility that packs potato chips and I was just amazed with the entire process. How complex and simple everything looked at the same time. Seeing how products are made from start to finish has always been intriguing ever since. After that, I decided that I wanted to be an Industrial Engineer and learn how to make production lines more efficient and successful. I have loved every challenge I have faced ever since — whether ramping up a line or redesigning it to bring a new product to the market.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
Every experience is unique but becoming a manager has humbled me a lot. I have had the blessing of having members on my team that helped form me and be better not only professionally, but also personally. As a female leader, it is challenging to get direct reports’ respect. I went from my team challenging my decisions and opinions to having them backing me up and trusting me to make the right decision. Gaining their support and appreciation will forever be the most interesting thing I have accomplished.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“New talent needs friends.” Building a career is challenging. It takes time to find your voice and get the experience to be confident on the decisions that need to be made. New talent is expected to prove themselves, but oftentimes there are not many opportunities or the freedom to do so. I was lucky enough to find people who gave me the space and trust to show what I am capable of, make my own mistakes and learn from them.
Ok wonderful. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview about High Tech Manufacturing. Can you tell our readers about the most interesting projects you are working on now? How do you think this will help people?
I am in the transportation industry, which I find fascinating. I am part of a team that builds light rail vehicles, locomotives and passenger coaches. Every project, every train is different and unique in their own way, and I find all our projects equally interesting. In general, being part of building solutions for our society is a fulfilling experience. Building public transportation will help people get to their jobs, loved ones and exploring new places.
Can you share how you are helping to reshape the Manufacturing industry?
I am trying to develop strong, confident leaders, positively influence new talent to break their own boundaries and have a future impact on their teams. Developing newer generations is crucial for any industry and anyone who wants to become a leader.
In addition to what you are working on, what other exciting advancements and innovations are US companies making in High Tech manufacturing?
The U.S. will have their first high-speed rail ever very soon. This project will create job opportunities and transportation solutions for thousands of citizens.
From your vantage point as an insider, what exciting developments will be coming out in the near future?
Automation and digitalization are our future. The industry is working really hard to find solutions to all our challenges and every day we are discovering new opportunities to improve the business and our teams.
In our Siemens Mobility facilities, we implemented welding robots for our welding process, and we are currently working on having automated harnesses built. This will increase capacity in our facility to be able to help more transit entities find a solution for their cities; we will reduce waste and have a cleaner manufacturing process.
What are the three things that most excite you about the state of US Manufacturing? Why?
What excites me most are 1) all the opportunities we still have to improve and get better, 2) the many ways we constantly explore new tools, technologies and other ways to make our processes as efficient as possible, and 3) the work/life balance — the U.S. offers a great balance for manufacturing employees.
What are the three things that concern you about US Manufacturing? What would you suggest needs to be done to address those concerns?
- Lack of focus in manufacturing degrees: Not many colleges offer manufacturing/Industrial Engineer Bachelor programs. I believe this is something that needs to change. We need to develop more new talent that can focus on how to improve manufacturing floors and processes and understand how a production flow works.
- Benchmarking: The U.S. is not big on benchmarking as it relates to learning from other countries. There are other countries we could be learning a lot from, and we are not exploring that opportunity as much as we should.
- Training programs: Similar to #1, we need to provide more training opportunities by way of trade school training, so people can enter the field and have opportunities to thrive.
Based on your opinion or experience, what would it take for the US to become a High Tech Manufacturing powerhouse?
Investment. We have the talent and the manpower to get there. We just need to invest in it.
As you know, there are not that many women in High Tech Manufacturing. Can you advise what is needed to engage more women in these industries?
To engage women in these industries we need mentorship programs, career fairs, conferences, internships, manufacturing programs in high schools, etc. We need to show our young talent that manufacturing is a place where women can be successful and have an impact not only in the industry but also society.
What are your “5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career In Manufacturing?
- Be brave.
- Learn the process before you change it: I always tell people “In order for us to improve processes we need to understand how they work and why are we doing things the current way.” You will find out a lot of small details that your eyes missed when you try to understand current situations, when talking to team members about their concerns and hesitations or when as manufacturing leaders we ask what the major issues of the line are instead of making assumptions.
- Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty: It doesn’t matter how much you move up. Always understand your product, support your teams. Work side by side with them.
- Don’t be afraid to fail: I once had a manager tell me, “Trying is not failing.” Just because that one idea that you implemented didn’t work out as planned, doesn’t mean that you failed. Keep on trying until you find a solution to your puzzle. Manufacturing is in constant change, there is no such thing as “permanent” in this business.
- Be a leader: Work to get people to follow you instead of forcing them to do as you say. Great leaders are as great as their teams. Your team does not work FOR you, you work WITH them.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
:-) Equal opportunities for women, not only for women to get considered for every job opportunity that a man would, but also equal pay and equal treatment. We have come a long way but there is still a lot of work to do. Women deserve the same respect and consideration as males, and I am proud to work for an organization that recognizes this.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Follow me on: linkedin.com/in/liliana-valdez-2b1ab613b
Thank you so much for the time you spent doing this interview. This was very inspirational, and we wish you continued success.
About The Interviewer: David Leichner is a veteran of the Israeli high-tech industry with significant experience in the areas of cyber and security, enterprise software and communications. At Cybellum, a leading provider of Product Security Lifecycle Management, David is responsible for creating and executing the marketing strategy and managing the global marketing team that forms the foundation for Cybellum’s product and market penetration. Prior to Cybellum, David was CMO at SQream and VP Sales and Marketing at endpoint protection vendor, Cynet. David is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Jerusalem Technology College. He holds a BA in Information Systems Management and an MBA in International Business from the City University of New York.
