Women Reshaping Manufacturing: Rachel Amorose Of Siemens Mobility North America On The Five Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career In Manufacturing

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 Rachel Amorose.

Rachel Amorose is a System Engineer with Siemens Mobility North America. Rachel began her career at Siemens four years ago via the Engineering Development Program (EDP), a rotational program that exposed her to four distinct groups within Rail Infrastructure. Following the rotations, she landed in the Onboard System Engineers group during which she worked on exciting rail projects for transit systems in Chicago and NY.

As the chair of Mobility WIN@S Group, the Women’s Impact Network at Siemens, which is an employee resource group, Rachel provides and fosters close connections to other women within the organization to create a diverse environment for personal and professional growth, open to women and allies.

A Pittsburgh native, Rachel is a graduate of Gannon University in Erie, PA with a degree in Electrical Engineering.

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?

I joined Siemens in the summer of 2019 after getting my bachelor’s in electrical engineering from Gannon University. I was brought in under a rotational program where I was able to try four different business groups prior to deciding on my permanent role. The role I found most fit my skill set and interested me was the System Engineers group of the Onboard Business. This group makes the safety cab signaling systems, ATC/ACSES, that are on many trains throughout the Northeast Corridor. Through this role we interface with our manufacturing business to build the equipment we design in the engineering business. We work with them on manufacturability, concerns/issues, and any comments we receive that could make the product better.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

I had been working on a very high priority project for a little over a year when some field work came up. At first, I was not asked to go along, but the Friday before the team left on that Sunday, I was asked to join the trip. This wasn’t my first time traveling for work but definitely the most exciting trip thus far in my career. I was able to join the rest of my team in this field work for our project. It was a trip of many firsts; first time doing field work, first time seeing our equipment on a train, first team seeing the inside of a train, and the first time I was able to see how impactful my work was. I was so excited to go on this trip!

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

My favorite life lesson quote at work was said to me by a senior engineer I work with, he said something along the lines of “teach people how you want to be treated”. That really stuck with me being a female engineer. I wasn’t going to automatically have respect and trust from all of my coworkers, I would have to earn it and show the team who I was and how I would be treated. I would say I have successfully shown them who I am and what I’m capable of.

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?

The most interesting project I am currently working on is the safety system for a new locomotive that will be dual modes, electric and diesel. This locomotive will be equipped with the Siemens cab signaling system and be more eco-friendly with the option for electric power through tunnels and into stations for passenger health and safety. As an industry leader in rail, Siemens is always trying to make more sustainable options, this being one of the many!

Can you share how you are helping to reshape the manufacturing industry?

I am helping to reshape the manufacturing industry by gaining a further understanding of the work that is done at our company and throughout the industry to make the processes the most correct and efficient. Siemens always encourages new ideas, and they are always trying to bring in better methods and tools for continuous improvement.

In addition to what you are working on, what other exciting advancements and innovations are U.S. companies making in High Tech manufacturing?

A very exciting advancement Siemens is working on is the idea of additive manufacturing, our CEO Barbara Humpton talks about it in her podcast The Optimistic Outlook.

From your vantage point as an insider, what exciting developments will be coming out in the near future?

Siemens is making many new innovations including the new S-80 Gate Mechanism, a new Data Radio for the Northeast Corridor, and of course their involvement with Brightline West, in addition there are new projects in the works that can’t be mentioned yet. Railroads are an older industry, but changes and new products are always coming out, with a lot of that being done by Siemens. I look forward to the future innovations that Siemens will create!

What are the three things that most excite you about the state of U.S. Manufacturing? Why?

One thing that excites me is the new manufacturing facility that Siemens is building in North Carolina. It is a great example of the growth possibilities at Siemens for our company and our employees. Two additional exciting things are the increasing use of a digital twin in manufacturing, which reduces time for prototypes and ensures more accuracy in the manufacturing process, and the continued emphasis on Buy America in our manufacturing supply chain, great for America and Siemens.

What are the three things that concern you about U.S. Manufacturing? What would you suggest needs to be done to address those concerns?

Three concerns I have would be the introduction of AI, obsolescence, and lead times. The last two are issues many companies are facing but, in our industry, it can be very prevalent. Siemens has measures in place to help with both of them but when we are producing equipment for a demanding industry it can be a daily challenge. I’m not sure anything can be done other than as a whole we need to bounce back from covid, but things aren’t the same.

Based on your opinion or experience, what would it take for the U.S. to become a High-Tech Manufacturing powerhouse?

I think companies need to make the investment to find top talent for their manufacturing facilities and, once they are at the company, continue to invest in their training and development to encourage them to stay long-term.

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?

More women will be engaged if they know and see women are in High Tech Manufacturing. Everyone wants to see someone who looks like them in a role, then they know they will have a community and will be supported by their company.

Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career In Manufacturing?

My 5 things would be to create trust with your employees/coworkers, continually looks for ways to do things most efficiently, attend conferences to hear what the industries are doing, be able to pivot on a dime, and lastly have passion for what you are manufacturing.

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.

My movement would be to inspire people to have a mindset of things happen for a reason. There is always a reason why things happen, you may not know it then, but you will soon gain an understanding of it!

How can our readers further follow your work online?

I can be found on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-amorose

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.