Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with this Special Hispanic Engineer Magazine Edition

 

POSTED ON Oct 09, 2024

 

Hispanic Engineer magazine has been serving the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) community for 40 years. During this span of time, the magazine has featured hundreds of STEM professionals and leaders. Read the latest stories in Hispanic Engineer magazine. Click here for more.

It has recognized and celebrated their contributions through technology and business lists. The magazine has also showcased leaders who are making significant contributions in their communities.

This list has highlighted savvy executives, managers, marketers, and technology leaders, many of whom started as engineers before transitioning into business roles.

By recognizing the top 50 to watch, this list showcases emerging leaders who are set to shape the future of engineering and technology.

These individuals, through their innovation, dedication, and leadership, are advancing their fields and paving the way for future generations of engineers and technologists.

Their stories of overcoming challenges and achieving success serve as an inspiration and a testament to the vital contributions of people in STEM.

As we celebrate their achievements, we must continue addressing the barriers they face to harness their potential and fully drive economic and technological progress. The future of engineering and technology in the U.S. is bright, and these top 50 to watch are leading the way.

INVENTORS & INNOVATORS

Rosella Torres began her aerospace career in 2011 at Honeywell. In 2013, she moved to Gulfstream. Over the course of six years, she gained experience as a design data coordinator and design engineer, where she conducted analysis and proposed technical improvements based on FAA regulations. Additionally, she spearheaded engineering initiatives, including engineering recruiting, training, and task assignment. Throughout her 10-year tenure at Gulfstream, Rosella has set an example for her teams, with a steadfast commitment to improvement, teamwork, and growth for herself and her entire team.

Joanna Laucirica, an innovator in ambulatory clinic operations, leverages over a decade of experience to advance healthcare through technology. Currently serving as an Ambulatory Clinic Improvement Specialist, Jo’s adept integration of innovative tech, Standard Operating Procedures, and change management drives operational excellence and prepares clinics for future healthcare dynamics. Through her passion for operational planning and healthcare improvement, Jo has propelled healthcare organizations nationwide.

Lorena Cruz Quintero stands out as an exemplary front-line supervisor at L3Harris Technologies, where she plays a pivotal role in mentoring and steering engineers, specialists, and technicians along their career paths. She is a co-integrated product team lead for a $120M program and oversees a team of 15 engineers. Lorena has surpassed expectations by achieving a production yield 2.5 times higher than projected for the proprietary devices developed on her program.

Lymaris Serrano recently joined the Software Engineering & Image Science organization at L3 Harris as an engineering manager. Before her current role, Lymaris served as the enterprise management and infrastructure integrated product team lead on the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites R Series (GOES-R) program. Lymaris has also played a pivotal role in the college recruiting team at the University of Puerto Rico – Mayaguez, where she helps L3Harris Technologies recruit new college graduates and interns. Her passion for inclusion is evident in how she led the GOES-R EI team and changed the day-to-day culture to be more inclusive and collaborative.

Elsa Gonzalez-Aguilar has advanced from an intern to a senior developer. She is an outstanding member of the team at Leidos, Inc. With just a few years of experience, Elsa implemented the first automated testing as part of the CI/CD pipeline system. When customers reduced the program increment by 50%, Elsa and her team successfully delivered the new features and associated automated tests as initially planned. She has received recognition for all her achievements in developing solutions for complex cyber systems and significant contributions in developing an automated testing framework when commercial automated testing products fail to meet requirements.

Leslie Rojas Bullock is an advocate in the workforce. She currently serves as a program manager on a NASA contract supporting the Science Mission Directorate and the Mission Support Directorate. She provides executive-level support for ASRC Federal within the Flight Projects Directorate. This directorate manages and implements flight projects at the Goddard Space Flight Center. Her awards include the Mini Certificate for Major four years in a row and the 2020 Robert H. Goddard Award for her significant contributions to the success of the NASA mission.

Maria Elena Herrera is a project manager at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. She specializes in spill prevention, control, countermeasure plans, facility response plans, and Oil and Hazardous Substance Spill Prevention and Response Plans. Herrera holds a top-secret clearance and recently received two letters of recommendation from Department of Defense personnel. She obtained her civil engineering degree from the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico and is also a member of the Society of Women Engineers as well as an associate member of Colegio de Ingenieros y Agrimensores de Puerto Rico.

Brenda Pacheco Franco started as a systems engineer at Walmart. She now works with the Cloud Identity team. Brenda plays a crucial role in ensuring the security of Walmart’s digital ecosystem. Brenda is also dedicated to developing a STEM camp for an elementary school and has partnered with the school district to design a program that provides care packages for families during the holidays. Brenda holds a bachelor’s degree in information technology and intelligence analysis from George Mason University and a master’s in cybersecurity strategy and information management from George Washington University.

Alejandro Gerardo Espinoza is a quality engineer. Prior to these responsibilities, Alejandro worked as a specialist in the training area, where he was responsible for training all personnel involved in coordinating the quality strategies group in the cabinets area. In this role, Alejandro created over thirty different training modules for new personnel in the cabinet business unit training development.

Alejandro Murillo Flores works in manufacturing planning structures at Gulfstream Aerospace Mexicali, focusing on introducing innovative programs for strategic business units (SBUs), and improving processes. Alejandro holds a professional license in product development and mechanical design. As a manufacturing planning engineer, he has implemented on-time and quality engineering changes on existing products and participated in the transfer of new products, ensuring proper planning, materials, and necessary tools.

Alexis Macias Garcia is an aerospace engineer with experience as a manufacturing planning engineer in electrical areas and as a quality engineer in electrical areas at Gulfstream Aerospace, Mexicali. He audited work plans and foamboards to ensure compliance with drawings, reworked routines according to drawing specifications, and provided support for electrical shop aids to implement processes and projects that reduce audit lead time. He introduced new criteria and conditions to the Workmanship Criteria and applied the 8D methodology to identify root causes.

César Ávila has accumulated ten years of industry experience, working in roles such as stress engineer. During his tenure at Gulfstream Stress Engineering department, he has provided support to design and liaison teams by validating modern designs and design changes through structural analysis. He is proficient in using a variety of software for computer-aided design, manufacturing, engineering, 3D modeling, and product lifecycle management. Additionally, he has expertise in finite element model data post-processing, hand static analysis, and FAA certifications/regulations.

Christopher Alvarez served as a production supervisor at Gulfstream Aerospace from 2008 to 2010. Three years later, he rejoined Gulfstream as a senior operations leader. Over the past decade, Christopher has held various roles as an operations leader in projects such as product transference, new product introduction, new leader introduction, and self-directed teams’ initiative. Throughout his career, Alvarez has also worked as a production supervisor, operations manager, process engineer, and as an equipment engineer at Thomson Display Mexicali.

Daniel Paez is a senior liaison engineer who provides instructions on how to manage issues at the furniture shop facility. He plays a vital role in ensuring high-quality furniture is produced for the luxurious interiors of the Gulfstream Aircraft G500/G600 programs. Building complex furniture to meet all FAA requirements and regulations presents many engineering and craft challenges. Daniel serves as a technical reference for his teammates, offering support and training to new engineers who join the team, helping them adapt and learn more easily.

Erick Montoya has been working in the aerospace industry for over two years. He has developed skills that make him a highly valued asset for the Completions Engineering organization at Gulfstream Mexicali. Erick started his career as a quality intern. His most significant contribution is the new MCO Automation tool, which he coded and worked on as the lead engineer. Erick’s new tool helped operations in Mexicali, Savannah, Dallas, and Appleton to ensure the manufacturing process of the cabinets for each project is correct.

Januario Delgado works as a stress engineer in the aerospace industry. At Gulfstream Stress Engineering department, he helps design and liaison teams by validating contemporary designs and design changes through structural analysis and certification processes. The Stress group at Gulfstream ensures the structural integrity of all engineering changes in Gulfstream models by conducting detailed stress analysis using finite element modeling (FEM) and hand calculations.

Miguel Jasso began his aerospace career at Gulfstream as an intern in completions engineering. After working on various projects, he returned to the Gulfstream team in 2022 and quickly adapted to new processes, workloads, and learned from other engineers due to his initiative-taking and helpful nature. He prioritizes quality and has prevented significant losses by catching errors before they are shipped out. Miguel is highly regarded by his peers for his technical expertise and dedication.

Patricia Ramos has worked as an industrial and manufacturing planning engineer at Gulfstream Mexicali for several years. Patricia initially joined the company as an intern and served in quality assurance and paint strategies, where she identified paint defects and prepared defect reports efficiently. Patricia recently completed her MBA with a concentration in finance from CETYS Universidad, Campus Mexicali. Furthermore, she led the preparation of the “Financial and Marketing Strategies to Apply amid a Crisis – Impact of COVID-19 on the Department Store and Retail Sector” report.

Pedro Almanza has been working in the aerospace industry for several years. He has developed skills that make him an asset in the engineering organization at Gulfstream Mexicali, Savannah, Appleton & Dallas. Pedro started his career at Datatechnic de Mexico, Mexicali as a robotics and vision systems engineer collaborating with clients to design machines to help ease production and helping the sales team to close deals creating robotic and vision system demos for clients. In 2017 he started in Gulfstream as a mechanical designer creating CAD models and drawings for new aircraft and custom designs for G600/G500.

Ricardo Rivera has 25 years of experience in the industry and is currently working as a senior design engineer, supporting Mexicali and Savannah organizations. During his career at Gulfstream, he has held various roles such as manufacturing engineer, manufacturing lead, check engineer, weights engineer, and senior design engineer in the production design engineer group. This group is responsible for evaluating, validating, and implementing all engineering issues reported by the shop floor, as well as driving product improvements, addressing ergonomic risks, and supporting business initiatives.

Roberto Muñoz Aispuro has worked in the manufacturing department for five years. Between 2019 and 2023, he developed and implemented a back-to-basic strategy for 3, 4, and 5-axis machines to enhance quality. The results showed a 76% defect improvement over a 24-month period with zero escapes. Roberto also established a new standard for training mechanics and manufacturing engineers, and machine certification, which received favorable feedback when presented at the last Orlando Symposium.

Ulises Rubalcaba works at Gulfstream Mexicali. As a senior manufacturing engineering IV, his responsibilities include introducing new manufacturing methods and tools for the shop floor, coordinating root cause analysis and corrective actions for customer-reported issues, coaching, and mentoring new manufacturing engineering hires, and evaluating performance. Ulises has been involved in key projects for Avionics, Electrical Assemblies, and new products, consistently going above and beyond his role to achieve goals and meet expectations.

Victor Manuel Perez Gonzalez has been employed at Gulfstream Mexicali for over 17 years, serving as a computer numerical control (NC) programmer for Z-Frames, Cabinets, and Machining. In 2017, he successfully delivered the producibility of the part numbers for Z-frames and programmed various part numbers for a new strategic business unit utilizing vortex and vortex tube cooling systems, as well as carbon dioxide gas, demonstrating extensive NC programming knowledge.

Yulissa Hernandez is an industrial engineer with experience in the aerospace industry. She obtained a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California in Mexicali and a certificate in “Big Data: the impact of massive data in society” from The Autonomous University of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain. Currently, she works as a quality assurance engineer, following her previous role as a manufacturing engineer. She played a key role in the implementation of tensile tests.