Rising Star Award Winner 2024: Sustainability

Riddhi Padariya
Senior Controls Engineer
Heirloom Carbon Technologies Inc.
Brisbane, California

EXPERIENCE

Padariya recently held the position of Senior Controls Engineer at Heirloom, a Direct Air Capture company featured in Time magazine’s Top 50 Green Tech Companies of 2024. Previously, she spent four years at Tesla, playing a key role in deploying the Tesla Megapack line, Model 3/Y Battery Module lines, and the 4680-cell manufacturing line. Padariya has also served as a judge at the United Nations COP28 Hack for Earth and is a board member at the International Society of Automation for three divisions.

What’s the most exciting part of your work?

I love designing and developing machines that produce parts with the highest precision and quality, much like what I saw growing up on the How It’s Made show on the Discovery Channel. The cherry on top is designing machines that don’t produce unnecessary carbon footprints that could degrade our environment.

What is one major challenge you’ve faced in your career and how did you overcome it?

Coming from a small town in India to the United States for further studies was a significant challenge, especially since my parents didn’t graduate from high school or college. I didn’t know anyone who could guide me in the field of engineering. Through persistence, hard work, and seizing opportunities, I achieved many goals that I am proud of, such as working toward solving climate change and helping others who, like me, come from less privileged backgrounds. I plan to continue doing this.

What advice do you have for young women engineers aspiring to be leaders?

You can achieve anything you set your mind to. Securing the first opportunity is mostly challenging, but it’s just the beginning of the journey. If you can’t have a seat at the table, build your own table. If you can’t get through the door, break it down. Never stop; be relentless. Being a woman is a superpower. Just like nature, we women excel at nurturing and leading others.

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