SPIE INTERVIEW EN

1. Based in Abu Dhabi, 27-year-old Eugenie Buda is project coordinator at SPIE Oil & Gas Services,
working on the commissioning of a gas plant in Iraq.
Find more about our job offers on www.spie-job.com/en
INTERVIEWS
WITHOURSO SPIEPEOPLE
What were your first jobs at SPIE?
Eugenie Buda: I studied Mechanical Engineering in Malaysia. After graduating, I was hired
by SPIE Oil & Gas Services in Kuala Lumpur to work as a maintenance engineer. After two
years, I was given the chance to coordinate a six-month project for a liquefied natural gas
(LNG)terminalinFrance,whereIlearntalot.Weproducedhandlingmanualsfortheequipment
and I managed a team of six. After that, back in Kuala Lumpur, I was asked to lead the
creation of a maintenance and inspection database for internal use in Asia-Pacific offices.
I was on a steep learning curve but my teammate and I were able to produce the database
within nine months.
What is your current position?
E.B.: I was offered to move to Abu Dhabi to coordinate a project which involves engineering
deliverables for a major gas plant that is being commissioned in Iraq. I’m based in Abu Dhabi
but I spend at least one week per month on site, near Basra. It’s a terrific opportunity for me,
and I didn’t think twice when I was offered it.
As a woman, what attracted you to a male-dominated industry?
E.B.: At university in Malaysia, there were only seven or eight girls out of about a hundred
students in my cohort. While there were several women working with SPIE in Malaysia, most
of them were in supporting roles – I was the only one in maintenance. My father was a
mechanical engineer in the oil and gas sector and I have always wanted to follow in his
footsteps. Now I find that there are two sides to being a woman: you sometimes think you
have to work harder than a man to succeed but you certainly get noticed when you do succeed!
“As a woman, you get
even more noticed when
you succeed”