Systems Engineer Is Encouraged to Always Keep Learning

Name: Luiza Fabreti (she/her)

PhD: Computational Biology/Evolutionary Biology, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU), 2022

What is your current job?

I am a Senior Associate Systems Engineer for JMP (SAS) in Munich, Germany.

I work with the software JMP, which is an enterprise software for data science that helps scientists and engineers in their statistical discovery journeys. My job is in pre-sales, I work with other sales colleagues and my tasks are related to the technical aspects of selling the software. My tasks include doing demonstrations, answering technical questions, and preparing demo materials.

What is your favorite thing about your job?

I'm always in contact with scientists and engineers that are working on exciting problems. I'm encouraged to always keep learning.

What is the most important skill you developed or experience you had during your PhD that now helps you in your current position?

The ability to understand complex problems and communicate them to different audiences.

How did you build the skills necessary for your current role?

The statistical knowledge I acquired during my research. Presenting my research in conferences and "selling" the methods I developed to other scientists were very helpful.

How did you find this position? What were the career steps you took to get to where you are now?

I knew the company already and I connected with people on LinkedIn.

PhD graduate ➡️ Software developer/Data analyst job ➡️ Systems Engineer

If someone is interested in a similar role, what would you recommend they start doing now to prepare?

• Learn about the company and the software.

• Connect with people in similar roles on LinkedIn.

Why did you decide to not pursue a career in academia?

I moved from Brazil to Germany for my PhD, and I wasn't willing to keep moving until I had a permanent position. It felt easy because I saw how hard it was to get a permanent position (even when you're a great researcher).

What advice do you have for someone getting their PhD and looking to pursue a career outside of academia?

1. Learn the corporate lingo

2. Use networking opportunities

3. Don't be scared to approach people

And for those interested, what was your main area of research?

I worked on statistical and computational methods that use genetic information to unravel the evolutionary history of animals and genes. There are many unsolved questions in evolutionary Biology, e.g., early animal evolution, placental mammals. My research helped further develop the methods, so that other researchers have better tools to solve these questions.