Our Stories & Events

International Women and Girls in Science Day is coming up this Sunday, February 11, and we never want to miss an opportunity to celebrate the incredible women who work in STEM fields, especially our Monument team members! So this year, we’re catching up with Yndalecia Martinez, Senior Production Engineer at the Monument Houston site! Serving in her 4th year on the Introduce A Girl To Engineering Planning Committee, Yndalecia came to Monument with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Texas A&M — fueled by a love for chemistry and math, and a special role model who was a successful woman in tech: her mom!

When did you realize you wanted a science career?

I’ve always been interested in the sciences, even as a little kid. Whether it was wanting to be a veterinarian, a paleontologist, or geologist (that one stuck for a while), my hobbies always leaned toward STEM. I really enjoyed chemistry in high school and had a great math teacher who only piqued my interest more. I knew very little about engineering when I graduated high school, but I did know it utilized all these things, so it felt like a natural fit!

Was there someone in your life who encouraged you to pursue engineering?

My mom worked in technology, which was a big influence on me growing up and in my current career.  I was also very fortunate to have had additional great mentors along the way. My first internship was specifically in safety, but since my manager knew I was interested in Process Engineering, he would take me out in the field every Friday and just let me ask questions, which was incredibly helpful. Since then, I’ve benefited from a great network in the Society of Women Engineers who are a couple of years ahead of me and always willing to share their stories and offer advice. And same with several of my husband’s coworkers who I am often able to connect with and ask questions. I’ve been pretty blessed to have so many women further along in their careers who support me.

What are your duties as a Production Engineer?

No two days in production are ever the same, but in a nutshell, our goal is putting out a good product, safely and efficiently. At any given time, we have a number of products that we are managing — from the moment it comes in the plant to when it’s shipped out to the customer. That involves coordinating with R&D, logistics, and maintenance and supporting the operations team out in the field. It’s our job to make sure the info they have is accurate and troubleshoot any issues that may arise. In a way, we function as a project manager among all these groups to make sure we create the best product that we can.

Additionally, we have various continuous improvement projects. At Monument, we are fortunate to have some assets that are at full capacity — so we’re focused on figuring out how we can de-bottleneck or increase yields. We’re constantly asking how we can improve efficiency, lower costs, or free up time in our systems to move our processes forward.

What are the most satisfying aspects of your job?

I love problem solving. I have been at Monument for three years now, and there are still things that come up that I’ve never seen before! The learning never stops, and it’s so satisfying to tackle a challenge for the first time and come up with a solution that helps the company and everyone involved.

And with all the great mentors I’ve had in my career, I equally enjoy being that person to others too! I’ve been very active in helping college students in the field, and now, as Senior Production Engineer, I have multiple people who report to me and rely on my experience to help troubleshoot issues that are very new to them. It’s very rewarding when I can teach them something, and we can find meaningful resolutions together.

What is your advice to girls and young women interested in STEM careers?

STEM careers involve challenging fields, but it's very rewarding! I think STEM has this reputation for being very rigid, but there’s a major creative element to it. You have to be able to think outside the box and innovate — it’s not all technical. There’s talk of adding the “A” for “Art” to STEM, and I think that’s to change the way we think about this industry. In my outreach programs, I like to ask the students to think of one product they have in their home because there’s probably at least 5 engineers that influenced that product before it made it to the store. There’s so much to our field that people don’t realize! The opportunities are endless.

What do you like to do outside of work?

I like to joke that I'm a pop culture enthusiast; I love a good reality show or “trash” television. But I also love to read — anything fiction, mostly sci fi or fantasy. Lessons in Chemistry is one of my recent favorites. Ever since school, I only choose non-fiction if it’s on audio, because otherwise, it feels like I’m reading a textbook! I have a long commute, so that hobby comes in handy then.

I also love spending time with family and friends — and my dog! When she was a puppy, she was a little too smart for her own good, and she learned how to open drawers herself. I went through dog obedience training with her and really enjoyed it. When I moved back to Houston, I realized there weren't a lot of dog training options here near me, so I did some training myself and started picking up clients. I have now trained around 20 dogs!

When I’m not purposefully playing with pups, I like to head back to my alma mater during football season to watch my sister-in-law march in the Aggie Band!