Our employee spotlight shines a light on one employee at a time. We value diversity and inclusion and welcome diverse thinking. It takes a village — through collaboration, living safely and driving innovation we realize our goals and help our clients achieve mission success. Our mantra is people first, mission always. In February, we’ll focus on Black History Month (BHM). We conitnue the BHM series with this Q&A of Alicia Exum, Supervising Discipline Engineer 2, IS4 Business Unit.
How did you come to join Amentum?
I originally worked for URS from 2012-2014. I returned to AECOM January 2018 as a contractor and became a permanent employee six months later.
What is your professional and personal background?
I am an electrical engineer with 15 years of industry experience. I have a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Howard University and a M.S. in Power & Energy Systems from NJIT. I also have my PMP certification and Maryland PE license. My work experience ranges from designing for state and federal government projects to managing construction projects at the electrical utility company.
Describe the work you do and how you think it makes a positive impact.
As a supervising discipline engineer, I perform electrical calculations, analyses, write specifications and develop construction documents that meet our clients’ specific project needs. I use my years of experience to develop construction packages, navigate project implementation and help mentor other electrical engineers and designers on designing per codes and standards.
What are some of your accomplishments and/or what has been your proudest career moment?
My biggest accomplishment was obtaining my Maryland PE license. It was a goal of mine since first starting my career as an electrical engineer. Throughout my career I have only met a handful of female engineers with a PE license and only one that was African American. None of them were electrical, so I do feel quite accomplished and proud of myself in earning that title.
What do you enjoy about working for Amentum?
I enjoy and appreciate the flexibility of work schedules and diversity of employees. As a wife and mother, things can happen at any moment and being able to adjust my work schedule is very necessary. Working with such a diverse group of people lends to unique perspectives in providing great engineering and problem solving. I appreciate it all and enjoy my job very much.
What’s your career advice?
Keep learning, even past the formal education years.
What does Black History Month mean to Alicia Exum?
Black History Month to me means highlighting and magnifying the accomplishments, sacrifices and the work of Black people who have made an impact on society. Researching Black history as a young child gave me the inspiration to become an engineer.
