A values-driven approach to engineering

Job: Engineer, Structural Asset Management, BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure

For Sathika, engineering is a values-driven profession that enables her to make a difference. She exemplifies this in her work for the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, where she manages projects to ensure the safety of bridges and culverts. She also volunteers her time mentoring students through Engineers in Action, which has included travelling to Eswatini to build a 73-metre suspended bridge completely by hand and link a community to health care and education.

What were some of your co-op experiences?

I got my first co-op position by knocking on a prof’s door and asking if I could be his research assistant. I worked for him as a surveyor, and this field work experience helped me get my next position at a municipal government.

At the City of Richmond, I was responsible for reviewing building permit applications, preparing estimates for upgrading utility service connections and culvert designs and conducting inspections with city inspectors.I liked being out in the field and learning on construction sites.

That led me to pursue my next positions in heavy construction, where I worked for different contracting companies. This included moving to northern Alberta where I worked with Syncrude Canada to find cost efficiencies for the Mildred Lake mine and in Red Deer as a field engineer for the Highway 2 interchange project.

Tell us about your career progression at the Ministry of Transportation!

I started off on the Cariboo Road Recovery Projects, a group of 10 projects to mitigate risk in an area that has been hard hit by landslides and road washouts. One highlight of being at the ministry is that you get to work with some of the best consultants who bring incredible expertise in geotechnical engineering and highway design to our projects. We collaborate together in a multidisciplinary style to come up with solutions to keep the province’s highways as safe as possible. I take on a project construction management role, deciding if the solutions the consultants have arrived at are the right choice for the ministry, provide the best value for infrastructure, will mitigate the issue we are concerned about, and take into account long-term maintenance issues.

Working at the ministry has also enabled me to try out different roles. To gain some of the design experience I need to qualify for my PEng, I’ve moved into a structural engineering position with the asset renewable group. This team looks after about 2,000 bridges and culverts within the southern interior region of the province. My work includes load rating (making sure the structures are safe to drive on), doing joint designs, managing inventory, conducting enhanced inspections, and working with consultants when we’ve decided that a structure needs replacing or rehabilitation .

Cariboo Road Recovery Projects

You’ve been very involved with the group Engineers in Action. Can you tell us about this?

I have always wanted to use my educational background to make an impact in smaller communities. My parents are immigrants from Sri Lanka and I recognize the privilege I’ve had growing up in Canada.  

In 2023, I became involved as a bridge corps mentor with Engineers In Action, an organization that builds critical infrastructure in developing countries. After a period of significant fundraising and mentoring, I travelled to Eswatini with  students from McGill University, University of Southern Indiana and Oregon State University. We spent 10 weeks building a 74-metre suspended bridge by hand, working alongside people from the community, who now benefit from easier access to health care services, food markets and a school. I then teamed up with another Bridge Corp mentor to start a chapter at UBC Okanagan. Last year we had a team of 20 active members who successfully designed and delivered a footbridge in Bolivia. I look forward to seeing the students at UBCO continuously impacting communities in need with their engineering skills and knowledge.

Engineers In Action