Why did you choose to work with RTI?

I graduated with a degree in Marketing Management. My entire focus was to get into any sort of global business, especially one that involved Japan. I previously worked with a company that distributed aluminum extrusions and moved into titanium mill products. I wanted to continue to work with titanium as a metal, similar to how a jeweler would prefer to work with diamonds than other gems. RTI International Metals was an intersection of my experience with titanium distribution and my desire to work with a global company and use my skills and experience with Japanese culture.

Why have you chosen to continue your career with RTI?

I have been with RTI for almost five years. The main factors that have kept me in my job are the flexibility, the ability to contribute to the company, and most importantly, the management style. My ideas and achievements are respected, my opinions and suggestions are taken seriously. My job gives me responsibility, but more importantly, the authority to follow through and achieve business goals. My boss has guided me through the different facets of the business and takes an interest in my career.

What is a typical day in the life of a sales director at RTI?

All of my tasks are geared towards the customer and driving sales for the business. Sometimes, that involves direct interaction, and sometimes, it means coordination across the different business units to ensure that the customer gets what is needed. My job also involves a lot of travel related to a particular project. I help to resolve any issues with our global partners, drawing on my global exposure and cultural experience to nurture our relationship with partners and customers in Japan, Korea, and Australia.

Internally, I get to work with a large variety of people across the different business units. My job allows me to be more dynamic in terms of who I deal with, where I go, and how I achieve things every day.

What are some exciting projects you've been able to work on?

Most of my travel recently has been related to the Boeing 787 program. Two of the manufacturers we work with are in Japan. It is absolutely valuable to my career to be exposed to such big name partners and customers. While I'm interfacing with similar customers as when I first got into the aerospace industry, with RTI, it is at a higher capacity. Because RTI has such a wide range of products and deals with the products from start to finish, there is more opportunity to be exposed to global companies. Most other companies don't have that synergy across the product life-cycle. It is definitely something unique in the market.

For the commercial aircraft industry, RTI works on some very innovative projects. For the aircrafts that are flying right now, aluminum is the main material. RTI has expertise in marrying carbon composites and titanium to make the plane stronger, lighter and get better fuel efficiency.

What is the biggest challenge you have faced that has played a role in your professional development?

Shortly after I got on board, we had our work cut out for us to grow our market share and win the contract with Boeing for the 787. We managed to win the project and bring some Japanese partners on board in a very short time. That has led to more opportunities for RTI in an industry where we have become a first-tier supplier. That gave me the opportunity to enhance the company's relationship with upper managers at our overseas partners. Our ability to come into the scene with an understanding of the culture has a lot to do with our success. It has opened up a lot of doors.

How does RTI invest in your professional development?

I'm given the choice to pursue on-the-job training, such as attending seminars and programs. RTI is definitely growing right now, and some growing pains come along with that. As an employee, I definitely see the executive management taking steps to resolve those growing pains and provide the right tools for employees to gain skills and achieve the business goals.

Do you have any advice for someone beginning their sales career?

If you're straight out of school, you're probably highly motivated right now. My advice would be to keep that motivation and learn as much as you can. Someone once told me that if you just do the best you can do, the rest will come, because people are always watching you. Be a team player and do what it takes to help the company, and the opportunities will come, which will ultimately help you.

What might the future hold for you?

With the growth that we're having, there are all kinds of opportunities to learn new skills and deal with new people. I put my trust in my manager to look out for me and keep the interests of my career in mind.

What is the work environment like?

It's definitely a very open environment. Teamwork is key to our business. We are able to band together and work towards a common goal.

One thing I wasn't expecting was the recognition of achievement from upper management. It's not all about seniority. Upper managers are willing to listen, for me especially, when it comes to cultural questions. They trust my sense and my experience. The relationship with the customer is valued and nurtured by cultural experience and sensitivity. It's certainly a challenge to work on global cross-cultural projects. They recognize the value an employee's background and experience brings to the company.

What do you like about your work location?

You can't beat Los Angeles.

Why did you choose to work for RTI?

My experience and background is in processing and forming lightweight metals. I saw a good match of my skills and capabilities, and that's one of the strongest reasons I chose to work with RTI. Also, RTI has a great reputation in the industry. It's an experienced, established company. I had used their products during my graduate study work and saw a benefit for myself and for RTI in bringing my skills to the company.

Why have you chosen to continue your career with RTI/ what has kept you?

RTI is an exciting environment. I enjoy the projects that I am working on, and I can see the benefit of my work to the company and to the customer. Every day has a new and exciting thing for me.

What is a typical day for you?

I am in research and development. My most common task is to take the results of a test, do some analysis and research, and apply what I've found to the real case that I'm working. I am able to make changes that I believe with make the process better and take the technology further than before.

What are some exciting current projects?

I work with both extrusion and superplastic forming processes. They are both very exciting. I feel lucky that I am working on these technologies, because it is a continuation of what I have done throughout my graduate studies. I try to develop and improve the parts that are being manufactured by these processes and set new standards. We have very high profile customers, such as Boeing, Airbus, and the big military parts manufacturers, such as Lockheed Martin. Superplastic forming has really only been in use for a short time. In my experience so far, it is more efficient than previous methods, and it is even still being constantly improved to reduce the time involved in the process.

Do you work with a team?

We have a very good team here in R&D, but everyone has their own projects. Within my projects, I work closely with other business areas. For instance, I use data from the production facilities to continue research, they implement what I've designed, so we are definitely a team. Overall, within R&D, we also collaborate and discuss across all the projects.

What is the biggest challenge you have faced that has helped you to develop professionally?

The biggest challenge for me has been the difficulty of the processes that I am responsible for. These processes are very complex and involve many parameters that cannot really be controlled. The challenge is finding areas that can be improved in such an uncontrolled system. I have been learning and trying to understand all the details, and based on feedback from business units, we have put a strategy together for improving the processes in the very near future. Everyone in production faces problems, but it's a little more complicated here, because titanium is a difficult material to handle.

For me, professionally, I see that as I gain these experiences, I can draw on them for future projects. The more difficult the problem, the more you learn. It's mutually beneficial, because you learn a lot from the challenging environment, but then you can turn around and bring that knowledge and experience back into the environment. It's definitely an outstanding opportunity for my personal development, no question.

How does RTI invest in your professional development?

I am able to attend training sessions and conferences where you meet people who work with similar technology or models. Sometimes, you exchange information and experiences, and you get to know the problems people face in other industries that can help you improve your specific application. Also, RTI provides great support both in the technology it invests in and the resources they provide to achieve results. RTI has an extensive library of resources dedicated to titanium.

Do you have any advice for other engineers looking to start or make a change in their career?

RTI is a very exciting place. It's definitely growing, and I think every engineering student could find their area of interest at RTI. You can find any type of job, from a production engineer to a design engineer to research; all of these exist at RTI. Also, due to the nature of titanium, it's very exciting, because the projection for titanium needs in the next 10 years is unbelievable. You can count on a reliable position in the market and a unique experience with an exotic and interesting metal. Because of this, you can improve your knowledge day by day. It's definitely an interesting place for an engineer.

What might the future hold for you?

I love learning - I want to learn every day. With time, you can gain experience. The more you learn, the more you see the big picture and can give direction. I hope to convey my experience and my knowledge to younger people and, of course, look forward to being in a position to help make critical, strategic decisions for the company to move the company to more state-of-the-art practices and keep the momentum going.

What is the company culture like at RTI?

The office environment is quiet, because everyone is focused. But the fun part is always there - the people are very friendly and talkative. It's a good engineering environment.

How has the work environment at RTI impressed you (diversity, ethics, exposure/high profile clients)?

The technology is quite impressive. None of our competitors have a comparable breadth of capabilities for titanium. Most competitors just do some of the things that we do. RTI does titanium from A to Z. That's a good strength.

I have also been impressed by the huge variety of projects that are going on. It provides a lot of exposure to other things that my projects don't focus on. It's a learning experience in new applications of titanium, and it gives you a broader view. I believe that that's very important, especially for a newer employee.

What do you like about your work location (city, office, etc.)?

The city is small, but it's close to larger cities such as Columbus, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh. There are a lot of things to do.

Why did you choose the work with RTI?

I was actually at another company doing a similar job. RTI had a need for someone with my skill set, and it presented a good opportunity for me in my career. I saw it as a good fit for myself, as well as for RTI.

Why have you chosen to continue your career with RTI?

There is certainly a challenge to the work every day. I like the community of people that I work with and the setting that I'm in. I have the opportunity to do what I need to do in order to put a quality product together, and that excites me.

What is a typical day for you?

I interact daily with the segment general managers and vice presidents for each business unit to discuss and understand their processes, sales, and expenditures. We work together to look at what is taking place currently, prepare forecasts, and then perform variance analysis.

What are some exciting current projects?

My whole job description is exciting! To have the opportunity to come in on the ground floor and help shape the direction of this company is exciting, to see the growth and to propel that growth into a direction where RTI is a world-recognized organization in the titanium industry.

Do you work with a team?

I do have a team in place. Also, at any given time, I am connected to all the business units in order to see that we perform within a specified time period and deliver good results. The dynamic of working with non-financial professionals is that it's a two way street. As much as I am gaining, perhaps, from learning about a process or industrial application, I'm also able to bring the results back and show the cost of doing business. I can show how we've arrived where we are, and together, we work on improving and perfecting the processes as we move forward.

We like to educate our team and give them the skills and resources to be the best they can possibly be and enable them to deliver a quality product.

What is the biggest challenge you have faced that has turned into an opportunity for professional development?

RTI has challenged us in the level of detail that we record and use to prepare and plan for growth. Through a team effort and a collective group of business leaders, we're able to now have a better product that gives us visibility and insight into not only what we're doing now, but what the possibilities are for the future.

How does RTI invest in your professional development?

At RTI, you are surrounded by the guidance of experienced professionals who can lead you, direct you, and cultivate you as a person to grow into your discipline. It's a great environment to work in.

Do you have any advice for prospective employees?

I would say to anyone coming in to take advantage of every opportunity that is offered to them, because the skills to be acquired and exposure to other professionals will certainly enhance your career and assist in your personal growth. There's a wealth of qualified, intelligent folks here at RTI, all willing to offer help and support and to be a part of the growth of the new folks that are coming in.

What is the potential career path like at RTI?

I think the people who make a conscious effort and have a diligent work ethic will be rewarded. There is opportunity for exposure and to grow as a professional.

What is the company culture/work environment like?

RTI values their employees. It's a very amicable work environment that is competitive at the same time. It allows us to self-motivate and encourage each other to strive to do our very best and push it to the next level. It's not an environment of complacency; it's filled with self-starters and hardworking people who enjoy what they do.

How has the work environment at RTI impressed you?

There's no doubt with the climate of our country, ethics in any organization is going to be paramount. The people at RTI are all professional and adhere to the highest ethical standards, and the environment is comfortable because of those standards.

What do you like about your work location?

The corporate headquarters in Pittsburgh, PA is in one of the most livable cities in the country. It's a place with a diverse background and a great heritage, and it certainly offers sports events and a cultural district with museums and performing arts as well.