Carla Carneiro de Souza Carvalho has what she calls “the dream job in the dream city.” As a propulsion engineer stationed in Dubai, she works on internal combustion and hybrid vehicles for the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Africa markets.
“The position I have in Dubai is the most special one,” Carla said. “It gives me the opportunity to act on the technical side of the business, which I really like, and to really have fun during the tests in the desert and mountains in this amazing part of world.”
In fact, her favorite part of the job is to instrument the vehicles and run the tests in the desert, mountains and city. “It's so exciting,” she said.
Excitement and adventure also play a big part of her life outside of work. Her hobbies include travel, working out, mountain biking, swimming, hiking, climbing, diving and paragliding. But she balances the adventure with reading, spending time with her 15-year-old son, and barbecuing with friends on the weekend.
Her motto, "It's kind of fun to do the impossible" comes from Walt Disney, who is her inspiration.
“It was unusual to have women working on Engineering when I started in 1998 so everyone believed that I would get frustrated at some point in time following this career,” Carla said. “As a woman I was always challenged to prove that I could do the job. And I made it. It was demanding work but kind of fun proving that I could take on that challenge and exceed expectations.”
She also loves the quote by Theodore Roosevelt: “No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.”
“Engineering is basically solving problems and overcoming challenges,” Carla said. “We learn a lot of methods and theories at college, but it will never result in a brilliant outcome if you don’t put love in it. Our team in Dubai is very passionate for what we do, so together, we are able to manage all the difficulties we face, and the results speak by itself. We care a lot, I care a lot.”
