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A Day in the Life of...
Darlene Justesen
B. S. Mechanical Engineering, MIT
Principal Mechanical Engineer
1. What is your job title? Briefly, what are your roles and
responsibilities?
Principal Mechanical Engineer: I act as the mechanical lead engineer on new product development as well as improving products in the field. I’m responsible for design, documentation, validation, prototypes, pilot assembly build, schedules, planning, initial tooling and part procurement, and assisting other engineers.
2. What is the work environment like (hours, life outside of work,
colleagues, …)?
Fortunately, I was hired part time when my kids were small and the company has allowed me to keep a very flexible schedule, and I work extra when it’s needed. The commute is a bear, so I work one or two days a week at home, which is great for concentration and getting a lot done. Coworkers are really nice, the company has a fairly even stress level, and is growing - which is always a better atmosphere. Because I live far away, getting together with coworkers outside of work is tough.
3. Why did you choose to work at this company?
I wanted a stable company, that would let me work part time, and I was interested in learning plastic design and hoped to do new product design that had a direct connection with helping people.
4. Did you have any prior experience (including internships/co-ops) in the
field?
Yes, I did have a summer job at GE in Wisconsin designing parts for an X-ray machine and CAT scanner. I also had worked for two years in the defense industry in California and then did consulting work for a few semiconductor companies.
5. Do you have any career advice for university students to help them
better succeed?
Try small start ups or something you want to learn early in your career, you’ll get a lot out of it. If you want to go into management, you will need to go to a company that has management programs explicitly for that. The big companies are (or used to be) wonderful at identifying and teaching leadership. The smaller companies allow you to do a lot of different things, but don’t allow for much mentoring or teaching and tend to keep you at the same level unless they start to expand.
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