AirLife is constantly changing and evolving – it’s a great place to be. If you’re willing to come on board and work hard and push yourself, opportunity will come.
My experience prior to AirLife was in the automotive industry – very high demand and high stress. I was interested in AirLife because of the type of industry, it was smaller, and seemed like it had good culture. The job requirements matched my skill set and I was already familiar with working with suppliers from China. In the first few days I was already involved in projects – it kept me busy, and I learned fast. I liked being able to dive in and figure things out. It also helped that people were super friendly – that made interacting with other departments easier. I was not afraid to ask questions and speak up when I didn’t understand something. It wasn’t long before I understood the importance of culture and found it to be similar across every department at AirLife.
My role has advanced quickly since I started in 2017. I was in a Product Engineer role for two and a half years, taking on more complex projects as time went on. I’d advanced to Senior Product Engineer, and after two years moved into my current role as Engineering Manager.
I was consistently given new opportunities to challenge myself and prove I could manage the work. I had a couple people, Mike Zamora and Clint Polhill, teach me valuable lessons in collaboration and management along the way. I learned about healthy deliberation – how to respectfully disagree and trust in my ideas. The broader business side of things regarding supply chain and sales helped me understand ways I could impact our efficiencies. We’re always thinking ‘what can we do better,’ or ‘how can we make this quicker?’ We are continuously improving. Most importantly, I was shown to do what I say I’m going to do, showcase myself, and just run with my own work. My managerial approach is similar now. I trust my employees and want them to grow. I lead when needed and allow them the autonomy to learn and grow as I did.
I have been given several opportunities to expand my knowledge outside my job through courses on drawing design development, GDNT, injection molding seminars, and a 6-month leadership development through GVSU. I’m so thankful AirLife invested in my development.
I appreciate that my workday is never the same. It’s new and challenging and the fast pace keeps it exciting. There is always a new project that requires different thinking that taps into our talented team.
Since my time at AirLife, I’ve learned to speak up when I have ideas or suggestions. It matters here. Some simple conversations have led to some great systems and processes that have made us more efficient and effective. I’ve also learned that growth comes at all levels and challenging enriches outcomes.
AirLife is constantly changing and evolving – it’s a great place to be. If you’re willing to come on board and work hard and push yourself, opportunity will come. It’s never boring – there are plenty of things to do. Remember to recognize what and how much can be done and prioritize for maximum impact.
