Women make up more than half of the college-educated workforce, but they only account for approximately 27% of the workforce in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). At HARMAN, we’re committed to taking action to close the gender gap and ensure every woman has access to the opportunities that will help advance their careers and drive true change. We know an important step on this journey is to hear and benefit from the experiences, voices, and leadership of women everywhere, including our own employees who have devoted themselves to a career in STEM.

As part of our celebrations for Women’s History Month, we connected with two of our inspiring female engineers to learn more about why they chose careers in engineering, their biggest accomplishments at HARMAN, and the advice they have for future engineers.

HopeSheffield

HOPE SHEFFIELD
Acoustic Engineer
Years with HARMAN: 2

Why did you choose to become an engineer?
I love creative optimization. There are so many details that we have to take into consideration when engineering technologies that produce premium sound. Using creative optimization is critical to ensuring we meet all consumer preferences.

What is your favorite part of the job?
When I reach a breakthrough during a difficult acoustic tuning process. There is no better feeling than finally hitting that right note and knowing that I’m helping ensure a better listening experience for a future consumer.

What is something you are especially proud of having worked on at HARMAN?
Definitely our Acoustic Prediction Tool (APT). It’s a project that I first started working on as an intern, and then was able to participate in its first release as a full-time engineer at HARMAN! APT is an acoustic engineering application that predicts acoustic response and channel summation with user-controllable signal processing parameters. Basically, it reliably predicts the audio system’s response to various changes and removes the need to acoustically re-measure the sound after each parameter adjustment to streamline the tuning process. In its initial release, my teammate and I took aspects of its predecessor program – the Virtual Tuning Tool (VTT) – but rewrote the computing language, redesigned the UX system, and make the program faster and more intuitive. It was so surreal to use APT, a system I helped create, during a production tuning and I can’t wait to see where further development takes it in the future!

What is a big challenge or trend that you’re excited to take on from an engineering perspective, and how does HARMAN help you overcome those challenges?
I’m still in the early stages of my career, so my biggest priority right now is to keep learning and pushing myself to become more knowledgeable about the cross-functionalities between acoustics and other areas of our business. There are so many synergies – not only across our businesses at HARMAN but with external organizations as well. HARMAN offers several professional development courses and cross-functional training programs, and I’m looking forward to continuing to develop my skills.

What advice would you give to someone interested in pursuing a career in engineering?
If you like making order out of chaos, this is a great field for you. It can be challenging at times, but if you have solid communication skills, can easily adapt to change, and keep an open mind, there’s no limit to what you can achieve.

What do you think will become the biggest challenge for engineers in the future?
I believe that one of the biggest challenges will be developing and implementing the infrastructure for more sustainable technologies that ensure industry demands meet the world’s requirements. We only have one planet, and we have to take care of it!

Women's History Month 2021

RASHMI SETLUR
Engineering Manager
Years with HARMAN: 7

Why did you choose to become an engineer?
There is a well-known saying that goes, “Engineers make something unsatisfactory satisfactory.” I couldn’t agree more! I wanted to become an engineer because the field is constantly changing the world for the better with inventions and solutions that impact everyone’s lives. Engineers are like the wizards of our society; everyone wants them to fix their problems and when they do, no one is quite sure how they came up with the solution. It’s a world filled with constant excitement!

What is your favorite part of your job?
I am constantly learning something new, whether it’s a new technology, solution, or process. As engineers, our focus is not just to build something, but to build something of quality. When your department is filled with highly inquisitive and helpful people, it becomes easier to achieve our common goal of supplying products and solutions of a superior quality.

What is something you are especially proud of having worked on at HARMAN?
I’m very proud of successfully driving and motivating our team through multiple Automotive Software Process Improvement and Capability dEtermination (ASPICE) assessments as well as the adoption and implementation of agile management, which relies on short development cycles and encourages quick pivots when new ideas or challenges arise. Just within our team at HARMAN, both of these developments have made our lives more connected, entertaining, personalized, and productive.

What is a big challenge or trend that interests you from an engineering perspective, and how does HARMAN help you overcome any challenges?
I think the most exciting trend would be to combine our technical expertise with the innovative ideas from other teams to drive more cutting-edge solutions in the car, enterprise, and other connected ecosystems. There is no shortage of opportunities here, especially with the resources and technologies that HARMAN has to offer.

What advice would you give to someone interested in pursuing a career in engineering?
I couldn’t possibly narrow it down to just one piece of advice, but I think the most important thing is to embrace your imagination – how do you envision yourself as an engineer? Next is to be specific. Engineering is a very broad field, but you can find the right fit for you based on your passions, skills, and interests. As for the rest, I’d encourage you to be organized, be curious, never stop learning (remember to study and practice!), start networking early, and always try your best.

What do you think will become the biggest challenge for engineers in the future?
In my opinion, I think it will be identifying ways, through life sciences, nanotechnology, and bio-engineering to improve the health and well-being of not only people around the world, but our planet itself as well. We’re already starting to address climate change through engineering innovation, but I think the industry will face unique challenges in green engineering and finding new ways to improve sustainability and reduce the carbon footprint of all organizations. And in addition, leveraging bio-engineering and agricultural innovations to feed the growing world population.

At HARMAN, we’re celebrating the achievements of women everywhere throughout the month of March. Stay tuned to our Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn channels to hear from even more of our inspiring female leaders about their personal experiences, professional journeys, and how they’re breaking down the barriers for gender equality.