A scholarship opened the door. Five years later, Sakshi Surana returned to that same program, this time seated on the other side of the interview table.

From corporate citizenship scholar to shop floor engineer

Sakshi's path into Siemens Energy India began as a Mechanical Engineering student, when she was selected for the Siemens Scholarship Program (SSP), a corporate citizenship initiative. At the time, she saw it as financial support. What she found was much more: internships, technical training, mentorship, and industry exposure that gave her a first real look at engineering beyond the classroom.

That early exposure changed what felt possible. Rather than waiting until graduation to see how a workplace functions, she learned early how engineering decisions play out in real operations, how teams solve problems together, and how confidence grows when someone invests in a person's development. In July 2021, that experience turned into a role, and she joined Siemens as a Graduate Trainee Engineer.

Building discipline on the shop floor

Her first assignment placed her in transformer manufacturing as an Industrial Engineer, and she became the first woman working in production within her team. The distinction mattered to her. It meant earning trust quickly, learning the rhythm of the shop floor, and proving to herself that she belonged there.

The scale and pace of manufacturing were new to her. She had to absorb processes, understand how each step impacted the next, and stay attentive to details that could not be rushed. Over two years, she built a foundation no classroom could have given her: discipline, ownership, and teamwork, along with a sense of inclusion and belonging for the only woman in the room!

Choosing a new challenge over comfort

In 2023, after growing confident in transformer manufacturing, Sakshi moved to Siemens Energy India's HVDC & FACTS Service business — the team behind the technology that carries high-voltage electricity across long distances and keeps power grids stable. This meant leaving behind a role she knew well and stepping into work that was far less familiar: customer engagement, bidding, project execution, and commercial discussions.

The transition was not easy. It meant learning a new language of work, one that connected technical detail with customer needs and delivery commitments. Before accepting, she told herself: "If you wait until you feel completely ready, you'll wait forever. Trust yourself, you'll learn along the way."

That mindset mattered because the role demanded it. She was no longer focused on how something was made. She had to understand what a customer needed, what could realistically be delivered, and how Siemens Energy aligned engineering, procurement, manufacturing, and logistics around one outcome.

A day in the life: keeping critical projects moving

Today, Sakshi manages the spares portfolio for HVDC and FACTS projects, supporting energy transmission projects across India. Her work sits at the centre of spares management, where timing, accuracy, and coordination matter every day. No two days look alike. Some mornings open with customer meetings on urgent service requirements; others begin with the review of technical specifications for spare parts essential to keeping HVDC and FACTS systems running.

The work resembles a puzzle where every piece depends on another. A customer identifies a need for a critical component. Engineering validates the technical solution. Procurement checks availability. Manufacturing plans production. Logistics works out delivery. Sakshi connects those steps and keeps the process moving so the customer receives the right solution at the right time, then stays involved through execution as priorities shift and unexpected challenges surface.

That coordination has led to tangible outcomes: contributing to the conversion of a major customer opportunity into a significant service order and supporting the restoration of a critical HVDC installation within demanding timelines. Neither result came from a single dramatic moment. Both came from the steady work of aligning teams, tracking details, and keeping priorities clear under pressure.

Coming full circle as an interviewer

Of everything in her journey so far, the moment that means the most to Sakshi was not a project milestone. It was returning to the Siemens Scholarship Program as an interviewer, sitting across students who stood exactly where she once had.

That moment carried a different weight from the rest of her story. She knew what it felt like to be on the other side of the table, hoping for a chance, and she knew how much that opportunity had shaped her own path. While interacting with the students, she saw a reflection of her own beginnings and recognized how far a Siemens Energy career can carry someone when learning and support come together.

"The opportunities that challenge an individual the most are often the ones that help them discover who they are capable of becoming." 

Why she stayed

What Sakshi values most is not only the progression from scholarship student to project professional, but that the organization kept opening doors as she was ready for them. The support came through training, mentorship, and the chance to move from one challenge to the next without being boxed into a single path.

Based in Mumbai, she spends her time outside work painting and travelling. Painting gives her a way to slow down and see things from a different angle, a habit that mirrors the patience and curiosity that engineering also demands. For her, that combination of challenge, trust, and development is what turned an early scholarship into a career.