Meet our Solutions Engineer Christina

𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙒𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣’𝙨 𝙃𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙈𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙝! 𝘼𝙩 𝙊𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙗𝙪𝙨, 𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙖𝙡 𝙤𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙫𝙖𝙡𝙪𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙒𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣’𝙨 𝙃𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙈𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙝, 𝙬𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙤𝙣 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙪𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙤𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙪𝙨. 𝙏𝙤𝙙𝙖𝙮, 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙖 𝘽𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙣, 𝙎𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙀𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙧, 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙪𝙨.

What drew you to work at Optibus?

I recently joined Optibus after 6+ years in the public sector. I was drawn to the company because of its mission – to make buses better. Buses are the workhorses of the transportation system in American cities but are often so underappreciated. I had also heard great things about the culture of Optibus from a friend!

What is your job at Optibus and what is your daily work like?

I’m a Solution Engineer on the North America Customer Success team based in New York City. Most of my day-to-day right now is working on the rollout of Optibus’ new Operations module. I’ve been thankful for the ability to work very closely with clients and our Product team on this exciting project, and continually immerse myself in the complex world of bus operations.

What woman has most influenced you in your life and/or career?

My mom. She studied computer programming in the late 1960s when very few women (or people) were in the field. She’s always told me she liked programming because it felt like a puzzle she was trying to solve, and I think I’m happiest when I can get that same joy from work. 

Best advice you’ve ever been given?

Not a piece of advice, per se, but when one of my friends or I are unsure about taking the next step or making a career pivot, she will break out a packet of post-it notes and we’ll write down many potential goals and possible paths to see what feels right. I’ve found that giving oneself permission to explore the whole world of possibilities before making a choice can be easier than trying to chart the next step from a narrow set of options. 

What advice would you give to women who wish to start their careers in a tech company?

I’ve found that coming in confidently and taking the lead on something right away is highly rewarded. I would also say, especially for younger women, to not be afraid to assert yourself. There’s a huge difference between being aggressive and being assertive, but women are often taught that one equals the other, which is simply not the case. 

What challenges have you faced in your career, and how have you overcome them?

Every sector has its tradeoffs. While one can drive real, lasting progress in the public sector, doing so involves navigating all sorts of political, economic and organizational constraints at once. I learned so much by being open to change, and taking on several roles to understand different levers of influence and impact. Those experiences gave me deep respect for the public sector clients I now partner with at Optibus.

What do you like to do outside of work? 

I enjoy exploring new-to-me neighbourhoods, long catch-ups over orange wine with friends, playing with my rescue pup, and eating my husband’s cooking.

𝙊𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙗𝙪𝙨 𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨 𝙒𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣’𝙨 𝙃𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙈𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙝! 𝙄𝙛 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮, 𝙢𝙤𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙘 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙟𝙤𝙞𝙣 𝙪𝙨! 𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙩𝙩𝙥𝙨://𝙬𝙬𝙬.𝙤𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙗𝙪𝙨.𝙘𝙤𝙢/𝙟𝙤𝙗𝙨/