This edition of the Power Women series features Liliana Fimbres, a Quality Assurance Engineer with Komatsu Mining Technology Solutions based in Tucson, Arizona. Lili was raised in Caborca, Mexico, a small town located about 100 miles south of the USA/Mexico border. It is in the Sonoran Desert and is a mining zone and an agricultural center for grapes and asparagus.
Liliana attended elementary school in Caborca where she did not have the option of taking STEM-related classes. She then moved with her family to the United States prior to her 5th grade year. At the time, she did not speak English well and attained only one A+ grade in math since she did not need to be proficient in English to excel in the subject. Although she also did not take STEM courses in middle school, she was exposed to various specializations in engineering as her father and older cousins are engineers. Her father is an agronomist engineer (also known as agricultural engineer) with a PhD in Soils and Water Science. Her cousins earned degrees in mechanical, electrical, and manufacturing engineering, respectively.
During junior high school, Liliana became an honor roll student as language was no longer a barrier. She was also placed into a higher level of algebra due to her mathematical aptitude. After her father obtained his PhD at the University of Arizona, Liliana moved back to Mexico with her family. She attended high school there, focusing on mathematics and physics along with art (painting).
Because she excelled in math and physics and had an interest inspired by her family members, Liliana decided to attend college and major in engineering. She also had a mindset to achieve success after witnessing her father’s pursuit of higher education and her mother’s example of a strong work ethic, positivity, and problem-solving. They both motivated her and supported her decision. Since she started high school, her father surmised that she should pursue engineering as she had the characteristics for a solid engineer. Prior to choosing which area of engineering upon which to concentrate, Liliana ‘interviewed’ her father and cousins to learn more about the potential job functions in each discipline. After consideration, she chose to attend the Instituto Tecnologico de Sonora (ITSON) majoring in Industrial Systems Engineering, where she eventually graduated with honors.
When asked about her collegiate experience, she thought school was inclusive despite her major being approximately 70% male to 30% female. There were no obstacles or challenges related to being female. After attaining her bachelor’s degree, she furthered her education, acquiring a master’s degree in Productivity and Quality Systems from the renowned Instituto Tecnologico de Monterrey. She also attained additional certifications such as Six Sigma Black Belt, Six Sigma Green Belt and Certified Quality, all from ASQ (American Society for Quality).
Her first role after college was at Industrias Maquiladoras de Caborca as a production manager. She then started to work for Softtek Information Services as a Six Sigma Project Mentor, where she was responsible for fulfillment of projects to meet the organizational goals and metrics. In this job, she trained groups in Six Sigma methodologies including DMAIC, LEAN, and DFSS and led root cause analysis workshops, FMEAs, and Kaizen Events. After a few years at Softtek, she took a role as a Quality Assurance Manager at Ensambles Electricos del Desierto. Here, she was responsible for all quality aspects for the company such as product certifications, process control, and follow-up of SCARs (Supplier Corrective Actions Requests). Liliana returned to Softtek Information Systems in a remote data analyst role prior to joining Komatsu’s Mining Technology Solutions division. She has been with Komatsu since 2022 as a Quality Assurance Engineer. She is tasked with monitoring incoming material performance and utilizing data analytics to improve metrics. This position also requires maintenance of documentation for the quality systems and is aimed at continuously improving processes. In this assignment, she works with many suppliers and has the opportunity to travel to locations all over the world.
Liliana would like to share with the readers considering engineering as a career that her perspective of engineering evolved drastically over time. Earlier, she regarded engineering in a narrower scope. Liliana was fascinated by learning that engineering is applicable to so many different jobs not just in manufacturing but also in service industries. By taking new courses, training modules, and attaining different certifications, an engineer can guide his or her career path into new areas of expertise. She is happy that she chose engineering for her work life and recommends that others ask themselves, “what do I picture myself doing and enjoying?” If engineering seems like a good fit, seek advice from other professionals in the field to confirm that the picture is what you envision. In her case, she originally planned to pursue electrical engineering until talking with her cousin. After gaining more insight on the major, she pursued a different concentration of engineering. Finally, she recommends that you enjoy college but also focus on learning the tools that will help you later in the workforce. Further, her advice is to keep in mind that your emotional intelligence is as important as your IQ, to successfully work under pressure, communicate and work with others as a team.