Navigating success: Sabrina’s career at UGL

Sixteen years ago, Sabrina departed Italy for Australia, and joined the UGL project engineering team. Over the years, she has advanced through various departments, taking on leadership roles.

Tell us about your journey

“In Italy I studied aerospace engineering and in 2007, I emigrated to Australia and joined UGL as part of the project engineering team at Broadmeadow. From there, I moved to Sydney where I managed the supply chain of spare parts for the rail division. In my role, I was looking after rotatable parts for different customers, so I was in contact with many of our large clients. I changed roles from an analyst to supply chain product manager. This involved looking into a lot of processing and continuous improvement to ensure projects run smoothly. As my role brought positive effects for the business, UGL transitioned me to a senior role looking after maintenance supply chain for all the sectors.

"I ended up having a conversation within UGL in another division, the team in Darwin were interested in my skills of engineering and supply chain. I was successful in the interview for the role in Darwin, I was the first to start with the project and the last to leave. I was up there for almost four years. It was a very challenging project, but I was always smiling and keeping positive as it was three weeks on and one week off. I got the best of it as the week off I could do lots of things that I couldn’t normally do in a Monday to Friday job. I got to travel like crazy and that’s what I wanted. I have always loved travelling and moving around as it is a benefit not a negative.

"Once that project wrapped up, I changed roles working in the tax system, looking after process improvement and cost efficiency. From there, I was approached to step into the Defence maintenance department as a continuous improvement manager for three years. I changed roles again to operational as I enjoy the challenge of the role and any that I have been a part of continuous improvement. I am currently in the new energy team looking after the supply chain and quality team.”

Have you had a mentor or been mentored?

“I have had multiple people that are my go-to if I want their opinion when I need to chat about things, they are more experienced and have friends that work in the same area. Along the way I have changed roles so there is a great number of connections I reach out to.”

What make UGL a great company to work for?

“There are a lot of opportunities. There has been a lot of investment in female opportunities, in training and development, female leadership training and I am involved in all these. There is also a focus on multicultural contribution within the business as many employees come from different backgrounds. Being able to move around across different divisions has been a plus, as having the variety has kept me keen to learn more.”