Phoenix Contact - Melissa Sommer

2021 Women in Engineering

Melissa Sommer

Senior Program Manager — Americas Regional Business Unit, Automation Infrastructure

Melissa Sommer began her career working as a Mechanical Development Engineer at other companies while continuing her education in a Masters of Engineering program and then in a Masters of Business Administration program. During those other positions, she always kept Phoenix Contact in her mind because her mother had worked for the company. In 2003, Phoenix Contact expanded its global footprint, creating the Regional Business Unit in the Americas. Melissa joined the company as a Mechanical Development Engineer. As Phoenix Contact continued to expand, additional opportunities were created, which led her into Project Management and to her current position as a Senior Program Manager.

What fi rst drew you to engineering? / When did you fi rst know you wanted to be an engineer?

When I grew up, there was no such thing as STEM in our schools or job-shadowing opportunities. I didn’t know any engineers. I happened to be good in math and then found a love of physics when I was a junior in high school. My physics teacher, Mr. Thomas Rutland, asked me what I wanted to do when I graduated. I told him that I knew I wanted to go to college, but I didn’t know what I wanted to study. He asked me if I ever considered Engineering. Mr. Rutland got me information on engineering (these were the days before the internet), and we spent time talking about it from then on after class. Finally, that was it…I was hooked!

Give us an example of your involvement in: a design project, a product launch, the development of a new technology, or the adoption of a new technology or process. How did you better your team, if applicable?

I spent much of my career as a Mechanical Development Engineer, designing new products. There is something really exciting about taking an idea from your head and seeing it come to life. I have worked on numerous new development projects where I was not initially sure how to make it work….. but I knew I would fi gure it out. I always questioned things and sought out additional ideas from my colleagues. That is what I bring to each of the teams I work with: questioning the status quo and always searching for new and better ways to do something. Now that I am a Program Manager and lead the Project Management Offi ce (PMO) within my organization, I approach each project with that same philosophy. As engineers, we are always being asked to develop more complicated products in a very fast timeline, while being economically feasible. We can’t do this if we don’t work together to question and seek new solutions.

Describe your biggest engineering challenge. How did you conquer it or resolve it, or what was the outcome?

A few years ago at the Hannover Messe in Hannover Germany, we launched a product with 72 new part numbers. To be prepared for the product launch, I had to ensure that all 72 part-numbers were ready for sale and available in inventory by the start of the fair. Once customers see the new products on display at Hannover Messe, it needs to be available to them to place purchase orders immediately.