Trailblazing engineer enjoys the excitement of working for a technology-driven company

Amruta Mhatre was recently promoted to Team Leader in her second stint working for Vanderlande at its Global Capability Centre in Pune, India. The Scada expert enjoys the challenge of delivering solutions on complex international projects. She is also a trailblazer, having been the first female controls engineer from the Pune office to work on site at an airport.

Author

Amruta Mhatre

Team Leader, SCADA department

I became the Team Leader in the SCADA1 department after being promoted about five months ago. I’m responsible for the delivery of parcel projects.   

To enhance customer intimacy, my day-to-day responsibilities include closely collaborating with my team in Pune, as well as colleagues located in customer centres in The Netherlands and Spain. I focus on setting goals to help the team move up the value chain, and I hold one-to-one meetings with them to understand their career aspirations, explore learning opportunities and drive continuous improvement.  

It’s been quite a journey for me, because I started at Vanderlande as a trainee in 2010. I was not only the first female engineer to join the controls team, but also the first female engineer from Pune to go to an airport site for commissioning.  

After four years away, I rejoined the company in 2021. I was really pleased to have the opportunity to restart my career at Vanderlande, and reacquaint myself with the open working culture, guidance from the leadership team, friendly colleagues and exposure to international projects.  

Being back in a technology-driven company is highly motivating, and I like being able to learn new technologies and improve my technical skills. The complexity of the projects really inspires me, I love working in an innovative environment, in which everyone is motivated to deliver on time and with a high level of quality.  

The job has also provided the opportunity to travel. I have been to our headquarters in Veghel, The Netherlands, and visited sites at different locations, such as Brazil and Portugal. Working in Brazil was one of my greatest challenges, as we had the target of commissioning the baggage handling system at São Paulo Airport in time for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. We were on a tight schedule and had to deal with some complex situations. The experience helped me to improve my problem-solving skills and I learned how to work under pressure. 

Another challenge was coming back to work after four years, but everyone helped me to settle in. There are certain core values that are important to Vanderlande, including “safe base” and “team play”, which made me feel confident.  

This is also a place where you can balance your work and personal life. I’m now looking forward to enhancing my people management skills, so that I can support my team and help them grow. I’m also keen to explore exciting new technologies, so that I can contribute to the growth of the company, as well as my growth as a professional. 

In my free time, I like to explore new places and have been fortunate enough to combine some work assignments with visiting cities like Sao Paulo, Paris, Lisbon and Amsterdam. Getting to know different cultures and enjoying the diversity of Vanderlande come together in a perfect way for me – and second time around, it’s like I have never been away. 

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Trailblazing engineer enjoys the excitement of working for a technology-driven company

Amruta Mhatre was recently promoted to Team Leader in her second stint working for Vanderlande at its Global Capability Centre in Pune, India. The Scada expert enjoys the challenge of delivering solutions on complex international projects. She is also a trailblazer, having been the first female controls engineer from the Pune office to work on site at an airport.

Continue reading