Meet Nahigle: From Electrical Engineer to Product Specialist at Cummins

Growing up in Venezuela, Nahigle was always curious about the mysteries of electricity. “As a child, I dreamed of becoming an electrical engineer,” says Nahigle. She grew up, earned her degree, and began a career in the management of offshore oil and gas facilities.

Nahigle progressed through several positions: Electrical, Instrumentation and Control Engineer; Procurement Analysis; and Project Engineer. One of her many accomplishments was increasing the reliability of a control system from 40% to 90% on offshore facilities by migrating obsolete technology.

Leaving a three-year gap in her resume, Nahigle took a career break to care for her family. She feared this might hold her back when she sought to return to her professional career. Fortunately, the RePower Program at Cummins Inc. provided just what she was looking for in her next steps as a professional.

Cummins shared her values

Nahigle shares what she discovered in starting her journey at Cummins: “When I had thought about my next career move, it was really important to me to work for a company with strong values like diversity and inclusion. After researching the mission and values of Cummins, I found a company with a positive work environment, which is essential for me. Cummins demonstrates diversity by partnering with Upwardly Global, a non-profit organization that helps immigrants and refugees return to their professional careers.”

When Nahigle started her participation in the program, during a mock interview, she met a  Finance Director in North America at Cummins. Hearing about Nahigle’s background, he suggested she apply at Cummins.

A day in the life of a Cummins team member

Today, Nahigle’s role is Product Application Engineer Product Specialist at Cummins. Nahigle explains more about her role: “We are responsible for all the Power Systems Business segment’s customer-facing technical information that is published on internal and access-controlled external websites in Customer Applications and Service Engineering (CASE).”

Nahigle shares a glimpse of what her typical workday from home looks like: “I usually start my work at 5:30 a.m., plan my day collaboratively, and ensure that the most urgent work gets done first. I go over my schedule to make sure any calls or meetings I have are a priority. Any prep work needed for those gets done first. 

Next, I start taking (customer service) tickets to verify and research each issue I receive. Throughout this process of solving the issues, I’ll likely need to transfer and confirm information with the engineering team. In addition, I’ll also be taking detailed customer notes for the tickets. Working cross-functionally to solve problems and perform corrective actions, I simultaneously update an internal dashboard to follow up with the customers and other departments, as necessary.

I like that I can work with different people, from different backgrounds, learning so much in my interactions with people from China, India Mexico and Brazil.”

Advice to future applicants

For others who might consider applying to work at Cummins, Nahigle would remind them that Cummins offers opportunities through the RePower Program for people with career breaks. “This program allowed me to work on projects that matched my expertise, interests, and abilities,” says Nahigle. “My favorite part was that I could refresh my skills, and it gave me experience working in the United States where I am learning workplace culture. The team for the RePower Program was an excellent support to us, so we didn’t feel alone in the process.”