Martina Repiska

Market Development Engineer

Washington Penn

I learned about Audia at university. Someone from Audia had reached out to my professor to see if any students were interested in getting a job. The plant was brand new and beautiful, the people were very nice, and I was impressed. I applied, and I've been here now for almost 9 years.   

I finished my master’s degree in polymer chemistry in 2014 and was hired as a Product Development Engineer (PDE), and I have to say that I cannot imagine a better start to my career in Audia. I feel very fortunate that I’m working in my exact field of study. Starting as a PDE taught me how to formulate: the chemistry, the lab, and even logistics due to sample orders. You learn to communicate with many people inside and outside the company. After three years, I was promoted to my current role, as a Market Development Engineer (MDE). I recently just finished my Ph.D., so I'm still very engaged in university life, bringing students to our facility and even conducting guest lectures.  

But my career development would not be possible without sharing my story within the company. I’ve had amazing tutors within the company both in Europe and the US; they helped me so much in the beginning. They never said no, and they never said that they're too busy and this has been very important. Their mentorship is very precious in my eyes because it is not very common. It’s been such a transformative experience that my parents and I went to the US to see a couple of my colleagues, for vacation. I really found a lot of good friends in the company.  

A skill that will make you the most successful as an MDE is cultivating very, very high emotional intelligence. You’ll need to understand people. Sometimes it’s the people at the molding machines during the molding trial, and sometimes I’ll even talk with the CEO during meetings. Sometimes I talk with Purchasing, sometimes I work with the Research and Development crew who are just constantly behind the books. You really need to have the ability to talk with very, very different types of people, finding a way to communicate information in a way that can be understood. This directly shows how, as an MDE, you are not just another technician or somebody who wants to sell you something, but a partner cultivating strong relationships with your customers. I'm not sure if I'm just so lucky, but I really have amazing customers. I work really hard to be the one they contact when they don't understand something, gaining their trust. When I’ve helped customers solve their issues, that's the best feeling.  

What surprised me the most is how Audia promotes from within. Giving opportunities to all employees is something I’ve never been used to seeing. Audia doesn’t underestimate anyone. If you show that you are smart and hardworking and you want to learn, they will always give you an opportunity. For example, people who start as operators have huge opportunities to grow inside the organization. Specifically, promotion from operator roles into higher positions such as plant managers isn’t common in Slovakia but is possible at Audia. This is what makes Audia special. Here in our company, people know me and they appreciate me. I'm not just a number or just another “somebody” who is working in the company. Being a part of a family-owned company makes a huge difference in how our managers are treating us, as part of a valued team.  

It’s truly amazing to see your work in the world. That value, knowing that people are using products with material that I helped develop, gives my work meaning. My work makes sense. This wouldn’t be possible without Audia. I'm very thankful that I got an opportunity, as a freshly graduated student with zero experience, to join this amazing organization. Audia has invested in me, even promoting me at 28 years old. I was still very young and with three years of experience in the company, it was literally a career-changer. I went from the one who was underestimating myself or felt that I'm not smart enough to a much more confident person. And the biggest impact I see is that I trust myself. I had colleagues who, and I still have colleagues who never really stopped believing in me, and I will be forever thankful. I haven’t worked for other companies, but for me, Audia will always mean family.