Hello, Aurora Solar! 10 reasons that brought me here

Photo by Clark Tibbs on Unsplash

One of my mentors once advised me on what he looks for in his career, which is at least one of these 2 things:

A company that makes a positive impact in the world

OR

A position at a company where you can make a big impact

and if you find a place that checks both, you can do great things. I’ve been lucky enough to check at least one, mostly both, throughout my career.

Aurora Solar presented a unique opportunity that gives me two check marks, and then some. I wanted to write down a few of my reasons here, in the hopes that a) if you’re thinking of a career change, these are good things to look for, b) I wasn’t even looking for a career change, so if you’re a company, take note and do these things, and c) really, I just want all of you to join me at Aurora, because it’s awesome here:

1. Sustainable energy! Using my skills to build something that makes a positive impact in the world is really important to me.
2. As a senior leader in their engineering org, I get to help them build an incredible, diverse team, and shape the inclusive environment we all work in. You know it’s my life’s work, and representation matters. The fact that they have OKRs on this, from the top, is amazing. You’re going to measure me on doing what I love to do? Excellent.
3. A diverse C-suite. You don’t get that at most companies. Representation matters, and this was a significant factor in my decision.
4. They partner with Base 10, an investment firm that donates 50% of the gains to create scholarships for underrepresented students. This was also a really important one — it sent the signal that they take this stuff seriously, it’s not just talk.
5. The recruiting experience was top-notch. I was treated incredibly well throughout the process, with clear next steps. I told friends and colleagues who wrote it down to add to their companies’ recruiting processes.
6. I’m going to learn so much from my direct leader. The first step of my interview process was actually me “interviewing” him for an hour, and he was happy to answer my long list of questions and by the end of it, I knew I wanted to work with him.
7. The diverse team of engineering leaders who will be my peers. I met some of them in the interview process and I think we make a great team. In the past, I have opted out of companies where no women were present throughout the interviews. A diverse set of interviewers/peers is something I look for.
8. The people I met in the interview process were really smart and really kind. They asked thoughtful questions and gave honest answers to mine. There was vulnerability that was shared, when we talked about the remote work experience and feeling apart from your co-workers, and, well, if you can be vulnerable with me, I already start to care.
9. Competitive compensation, vacation and benefits. Of course that matters! We’ve all seen the research on gender pay equity — and while I admit that impact matters more to me than title or money- getting appropriately compensated for the value I know I’ll bring to an organization is important. It’s respect. Don’t settle for a company that doesn’t appreciate it.
10. The company, and more importantly, the engineering team, is the right size for me, right now. You learn different lessons depending on the size of the team and the stage they are in, so I like to diversify that with each career change, and each company will benefit from my diverse set of experiences.

Bonus: ☀️ Solar! The technology is really neat, and I’m geeking out over the science/engineering side of it.

Now I’m here, and I have already learned so much in one week. I’ve said sentences like “wow your career history is really impressive”, “wow that’s a great process you have for that”. I asked my leader “did you just give me all your best people?” and he said they are all like that — so I can’t wait to meet everyone else.

Normally, I’d probably have some imposter syndrome coming into an organization that seems to hire the best people. But I don’t, because I feel supported in this environment, well represented, and I know what I’m good at. I also know what I’m not good at, and I’m hoping they will support me and my imperfections — and I will do the same for everyone here.

See you soon? We have some great positions open in engineering* and other departments, some of which are on my direct teams where we’ll work closely together:

Careers: Join Our Fast-Growing Team - Aurora Solar

*all Engineering positions are open to anyone in Canada, too