Samantha Uehara

Product Engineer - Way to Zero Center - Biofuels and Products R&D @ Volkswagen do Brasil

About

CAREER SUMMARY: • Professional with 25 years of experience in R&D and Innovation for Product Development at the automotive industry; working in Portfolio Coordination of new products development with internal and open innovation projects • Ability to work with multicultural teams; experience in collaboration projects with groups from different countries (USA, England, Germany, Mexico, Argentina, and China). • Experience in deploying Knowledge Management processes, Competitive Intelligence, and Innovation Management. • Engaged in fostering projects in partnership with Universities and Research Institutes. • Coordination of Otto Engines Committee of SAE Brasil for eight years, promoting networking, knowledge exchange, market trend monitoring, and organizing of the SAE Powertrain Symposium annual event. MAIN ACHIEVEMENTS: • Organized the 1st Circular Economy Event at Product Engineering for VW do Brasil. • Creation of the internal library to share information about external events for the Way to Zero Center Department. • Coordination of Portfolios for New Products and Systems Development Projects at MAHLE Tech Center with a budget of R$8 million, keeping expenditures within the limits set up and generating ten new products/year. Data internalization of projects developed in other regions and identification of regional opportunities through global alignments. • Setting up of follow-up and maintenance processes for patent portfolio in Brazil, improving communication between the patent office and the product development team. • Development of the fostering project committee, with bi-monthly meetings to update the partnership projects and to internalize results generated. Display improvement of ongoing deliveries and payments made. Identification of matters of interest to the company and potential development partners. • Creation and organization of a recognition event for collaborators (completion of projects and generation of ideas and patents) which allowed improvement of the organizational atmosphere and increased the number of ideas generated. • Implementation of the global Competitive Intelligence, with a monthly newsletter drawn up for all products (engine components) which has contributed to improve creation, strategy and launch of new projects. • International experience, transfer through expatriation for a period of one year to assist the deployment of internal processes for the company’s R&D at the Rugby unit (England) which has been added in 2007 to MAHLE group with the acquisition of the company Dana.

Country

Brazil

City

Greater São Paulo Area

Industry

Automotive

Skill

Comunicação, time to market, Communication, Automotive Engineering, Innovation Management, Product Development, Engineering, Powertrain, Project Management, R&D, Manufacturing, Design of Experiments, Product Design, Competitive Intelligence, Knowledge Management, Teamwork, Engineering Management, Liderança, Comunicação interpessoal, Tribology

Experience

Product Engineer - Way to Zero Center - Biofuels and Products R&D

Volkswagen do Brasil

2022-7 - Present · 4 yrs 3 mos

São Bernardo do Campo

- Coordination of R&D partnership projects searching for decarbonization solutions for the VW products - Organization of TechDays and Workshops with suppliers to understand new technologies to be applied in order to reduce CO2 footprint of products - Close contact with Research Institutes and Universities to find out best ways to do collaborative work with or without funding

Senior Specialist - Product Technology

MAHLE

2017-5 - 2021-12 · 4 yrs 8 mos

Jundiaí, São Paulo, Brazil

- R&D Projects Portfolio Coordination, with focus on new technologies and products for engine systems and components for internal combustion engines. - Collaborative work with other region’s portfolio coordinators to promote harmonization of global product portfolio and ensure that Brazilian regional demands are covered. - Working with Innovation activities in South America related to ideas, benchmarking, patent application portfolio and R&D projects FTO (freedom to operate). - Promotion of innovation campaigns to collect ideas for new product or new design features to improve product performance.

Specialist - Innovation Management Department

MAHLE

2012-1 - 2017-4 · 5 yrs 4 mos

Jundiaí, São Paulo, Brazil

- Coordination of funded projects portfolio (Embrapii, BNDES Funtec, FAPESP), reporting periodically to management team. Focal point for contact with external partner’s and getting updates from the company project managers - Responsible for competitive intelligence activities at MAHLE, working on the implementation of a CI process inside Innovation Management department. - Collect information from technical events, patents, publications, magazines, and press releases. - Conduct image improvements activities in Brazil, monitoring main technical events and awards. Collecting papers proposals, making internal revision of papers and technical presentations for MAHLE Brazil. - Establishment and organization of recognition program for project teams, idea generators and patent inventors.

Senior Research Engineer

MAHLE

2009-10 - 2011-12 · 2 yrs 3 mos

Jundiaí, São Paulo, Brazil

- R&D Project Manager (bearings and cylinder liners), participant of multicultural project teams. Interaction with colleagues from Germany, Austria, Poland and Brazil for cylinder liner developments - Provide technical support for the Sales and Application Engineering, as well for the plants located in Brazil - Responsible to elaborate Competitive Intelligence reports for cylinder liners through competitor monitoring, benchmarking and market trends evaluations

Senior Research Engineer

MAHLE

2008-10 - 2009-10 · 1 yr 1 mo

Rugby, England, United Kingdom

- International assignment during 1 year in Rugby (England) - Main task was to support the implementation of internal processes for R&D in the Tech Center responsible globally for bearings developments after the Dana acquisition. - Responsible to liaise contacts between Rugby and Brazilian Tech Center and Bearing plant. - Benchmarking activities coordination, monitoring competitor’s activities and evaluation of market trends.

R&D Engineer - Product Technology

MAHLE

2001-1 - 2008-10 · 7 yrs 10 mos

São Paulo Area, Brazil

- Project manager, developing R&D projects for engine components (piston rings, bearings and cylinder liners). - Provide technical support for the Sales and Application Engineering, as well for the plants located in Brazil. - Coordination of engine tests for the piston ring’s portfolio integration after acquisition of Dana in several laboratories of the company (US, Germany, and Brazil). - Member of the team that developed and implemented an innovation system for the power cell components. With this system the company has a structured tool to receive, storage and evaluate ideas that can generate new products and processes. - Responsible for the implementation of the system to manage the R&D projects developed worldwide in the company. - Coordinate benchmarking evaluation of components (piston rings and bearings). Established a data bank to storage information from the technical reports issued that allow the researches to compile and extract information regarding materials, design, and market trends.