IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2022 - 31

Pipelining
Attractive Programs for Women
Finding My Place
in Technology
Creating a win-win situation through diversity
a
As a woman engineer, Latina, and
member of the LGBTQ community, I'm
often asked about my career path and
the challenges I've faced along the way.
Working in such a male-dominated field,
I feel fortunate to have ended up at an
organization whose culture genuinely
supports women.
I am currently an applications engineer
at Qorvo, a company with 40 locations
worldwide that develops radio
frequency and power chips for connected
devices. Our solutions are found in
everything from smart cars, phones, and
homes to space rovers and fighter jets to
the satellites and cellular base stations
that connect our world.
Many things had to happen for me to
be at Qorvo today, but the most immediate
factor was the COVID-19 pandemic. I
was a recent engineering graduate in my
first job after college when the pandemic
hit, and I was laid off. I saw the Qorvo job
listing on LinkedIn, and I immediately
applied and sent a message to the hiring
manager. I've always had an interest
in working in the Wi-Fi customer support
industry, and now I had the chance.
The role seemed like a great fit because
it called for the ability to effectively communicate
with peers and customers while
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MWIE.2022.3155907
Date of current version: 4 May 2022
also being able to solve technical issues,
and in normal times, it involves a lot of
travel, which I love. This position was
the perfect opportunity for the career I
wanted to build. Plus, the benefits were
much better than what I was seeing for
recent graduate employees at most
companies, so that helped me
with my decision.
What I love most about
my job is the challenge that
each project presents-
that's what drives me.
We're solving different types
of problems every day, which
forces us to keep learning new
things and be creative. Understanding
and meeting customer
needs requires not only expertise
and field experience but also teamwork,
planning, preparation, and trial and error. I
enjoy working with all my teammates. Since
the very first day, they've all been very helpful,
sharing their knowledge and time, and
I do the same for them. Another exciting
aspect of my job is the opportunity to travel
and see the world while working. I haven't
been able to enjoy that benefit due to the
pandemic, but I'm looking forward to starting
as soon as it's safe.
Advice for the Next Generation
I've been at Qorvo for a year, and I've
had managers who've been here for 20
JUNE 2022
years or so, and we have one thing in
common: we're always learning new
things. They've shown that your attitude
matters more than anything else. Many
of the technicalities can be learned
on the job. So the advice I always give
young engineers is to make the most
of every opportunity. Don't let yourself
be limited by the school you went to or
the experiences you didn't have-just
be yourself. Own your story, be proud
of who you are, and know that every
day you can write a new chapter in your
story, even if the challenges seem insurmountable
at the time.
We all face challenges, of course. In
my case, I've experienced some specific
ones related to my background, gender,
and sexual orientation, which is why
I feel strongly about the importance
of creating a work
environment in which
young engineers and professionals
can feel safe
and supported.
In previous positions,
I didn't always feel
br inging
comfort able
Larissa De Maria
my whole self to work. For
example, I didn't feel comfortable
talking about my
partner, and many times
I held back from speaking my mind
because I'm an immigrant and I was
afraid of not being taken seriously or
even losing my job. I've also faced challenges
due to language: I'm trilingual
but my native tongue is Portuguese,
and I am very conscious of peers judging
me when I mispronounce or misunderstand
the meaning of a word. This
pressure has been a challenge for me,
but having supportive teammates has
helped me to feel comfortable enough
to learn from complicated situations
and grow. An inclusive culture makes
all the difference.
IEEE WOMEN IN ENGINEERING MAGAZINE
31
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2022

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