At Amentum, we celebrate our people, our cultures, and we recognize the value of diversity and inclusion. In March, we’ll focus on Women’s History Month while shining a light on one employee at a time. Today’s Q&A is with Samritha Menon, Subcontract Manager, Critical Missions
How did you come to join Amentum?
Been a Legacy DynCorp employee since 2010 and now part of Amentum.
What is your professional and personal background?
Professional Background – SAP CERTIFIED Professional with nearly 19 years of experience in Supply Chain Management in government contracting / Retail & commercial businesses.
Personal Background – Completed my Bachelor of Commerce from Pune University, India with a Diploma Course in E-Commerce.
Describe the work you do and how you think it makes a positive impact.
As a Subcontracts Manager, I am responsible for leading a team who conducts market research, sourcing, evaluation, negotiations, and development of subcontracts on behalf of the organization and projects we support. I oversee the entire subcontract lifecycle from award to closeout. I facilitate communications between stakeholders, both internal and external to ensure everyone is aligned and thus ensuring smooth operations and successful delivery of the contracts.
My work contributes to efficient government contracting, supports small businesses, and ultimately benefits taxpayers.
It’s a challenging but rewarding role and by bringing people and processes together, my team and I help deliver successful projects while creating positive ripple effects throughout the contracting landscape.
What are some of your accomplishments and/or what has been your proudest career moment?
Throughout my career as an experienced professional, I have had the opportunity to work on numerous impactful projects and achieve significant milestones. In serving, I have had the opportunity to stand up several programs across the globe alongside my team and when the Program is successful in terms of operations and exceeding client expectations it’s a proud moment for me and my team. Throughout my career here at Legacy DI and now Amentum, I have been presented with two Lightning Bolt Awards for contribution to success of a mission and several Certificates of Appreciation from various programs across the globe.
What do you enjoy about working for Amentum?
I enjoy working for Amentum because it keeps me challenged professionally, because of the excellent team that I work with, and because I report to a goal-oriented leader – Mario Galiouras. To summarize, there is a sense of purpose, a supportive environment, growth opportunity and recognition.
What are you passionate about?
Photography and traveling the world. I enjoy meeting new people, exploring different cultures and cuisine. I would love to be a travel blogger one day.
What’s your career advice?
The career advice I can share with my colleagues will be to develop strong communication, negotiations and analytical skills which is crucial for success. I always encourage people around me to look beyond just managing our functional requirements to see the bigger picture of how our work contributes to the final project and the importance for working collaboratively with all concerned stakeholders. We must also focus on networking and staying relevant to be able to provide our teams with a competitive advantage to build a sustainable future.
What does safety mean to you or do you have a favorite safety tip?
Safety to me is minimizing risk and ensuring to look holistically at situations to ensure physical, mental, and emotional protection to ourselves and the people around us.
Always be cautious and understand potential risks in a situation / project before sharing information.
What’s the best invention in the world and why?
The internet has undeniably transformed society in multifaceted ways. It has revolutionized communication, information access, commerce, education, and social interactions around the world.
Anything else you would like to share from a personal or professional perspective?
Personally & Professionally – DARE TO DREAM – Then do something about it!
Considering this monthly observance, tell us more about yourself. Please address one or more of the following questions:
Favorite film?
I love watching movies but the one film that is close to my heart is The Lion King. I love the song Circle of Life from the movie.
Favorite musician?
Music calms me on a rough day. Depending on my mood, songs can vary from artists like Bryan Adams, Coldplay, Imagine Dragons to soulful sufi music.
