Santa Clarita, California
Lauren Moghaddas has two homes in Santa Clarita, CA: her family home where she grew up and Stratasys Direct Manufacturing. She is an older sister and aspiring guitar player, as well as an Additive Manufacturing Project Specialist.
Lauren is responsible for redoing the safety program at the manufacturing facility. There are hazardous energy sources that could be deadly if not managed during maintenance, so she’s created a lock-out-tag-out program to protect her peers. Lauren also makes sure everyone is reporting accurately, organizing as they’re supposed to, and enforces processes across departments to prevent them from failing.
Lauren Moghaddas, thank you for everything you do. Your invisible hand keeps order and helps people and your entire company in ways that they may not see.
How did you get started in maintenance?
I never necessarily pictured myself going into this field, but here I am. I studied Biochemistry in college, and then got my Associate’s Degree in Computer Science. I really just fell into my current position. My company is very niche doing 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing; so it’s not so much about what I studied, but more so about strategic problem solving. My boss is a Process Engineer and I’ve learned how to approach problems and plan experiments to troubleshoot from him. I love my work environment because I get exposed to a lot of different things. The mindset is “Go ahead and learn” and I’m encouraged to create tasks for myself that I can own. Any projects that I feel confident enough to take over, I will.
What is one of your proudest achievements?
I’m really proud of being financially independent. I think I’ve been really lucky and privileged to have the opportunities that I have. To have become financially independent at a young age is something not everyone can do.
What is one thing you wish people knew about your job?
I want people to know that it’s important to work smart, not hard. It’s important to work hard too, of course, but working efficiently and not creating more work for yourself is key. I try and live this saying by considering as many variables as I can about what I’m doing before taking action. That way, I can be prepared going into whatever the task may be.