Angelin Mary: From DRDO to Daimler

Why should boys have all the fun? Angelin Mary took this seriously, followed her heart, and has had a great career in the automobile industry. She’s now vice president at the Daimler Truck Innovation Centre in India. Her team plays a critical role in developing embedded software across domains like infotainment and active safety. She is also equally focused on developing capabilities in middleware and base software layers.

But Angelin, who did a Master’s in software systems from BITS, Pilani, actually began her career with the government’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), where she helped develop radars. But then she thought private industry would help her learn advanced technologies faster, and give her exposure to global stakeholders.

So she joined automotive technology supplier Aptiv, where she developed systems for vehicles. She made a slight detour to designing systems for buildings at Honeywell Technology Solutions, but soon returned to the world of vehicles with Daimler. “With the introduction of high-end vehicles that require software, women have a lot of scope in the automobile sector,” Angelin says. Cars are no longer just about gears, and grease. “Software is the big differentiator. Back when I started in Aptiv, our global teams would say there are no high end cars. But now there are lots of them,” she says.

Women, she says, have the advantage today that companies themselves are looking for women candidates in line with their diversity strategy. But women can make a beginning in this field, she says, only when they stop being conscious of their gender. She says they may have to deal with prejudices at least in the initial phases, when, say, seniors could feel women cannot be put on travelling assignments. But those, she indicated, do get better over time if the woman performs.

Angelin says everyone in the auto field should first take time out to learn all about a vehicle’s systems. It is also important, she says, to visit manufacturing facilities, and to understand procurement and logistics. Visiting manufacturing facilities was part of the skilling process during her transition from defence research to writing code at Aptiv. Learning these, she says, will help when talking to a customer, and help plan the business requirement better.

“The client will give only a high-level view of what they want. They want to hear more than just about the software and coding language. Places like Daimler will also teach you managerial skills, and how to have business discussions. This will help you move up the ladder,” she says.

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