At Strohm, our team is shaped by diverse experiences and international perspectives. Yaritza, joined the company last year as a Pipe Completion Engineer, bringing with her a strong technical background, international experience, and a curiosity.
Originally from Colombia, Yaritza's path into engineering began during her university years. While completing her bachelor's degree, she started working as a Junior Project Engineer in fire safety systems, focusing on fire detection and extinguishing systems.
She gained her experience in hydrocarbon transportation and logistics during her university internship. Shortly after, she moved to Guyana where she was responsible for the maintenance of the facility, including generators, lighting systems, and electrical systems.
Working in Guyana required a high level of responsibility and flexibility. “I worked long shifts and I was also on call,” she explains. The demanding environment helped her develop strong problem-solving skills and the ability to stay calm under pressure. After about a year and a half, Yaritza joined Strohm in the Netherlands as a Pipe Completion Engineer.
In this role, Yaritza is responsible for supporting the pipe completion process close cooperation with project engineers, purchasing teams, mechanical teams, logistics, and quality inspection to ensure that operations in the yard run smoothly. Because the role is relatively new within the organization, it continues to evolve and requires flexibility.
“No day is the same,” she says. “Some days are full of meetings where we discuss planning and upcoming projects, and other days we focus on improving processes or preparing for execution in the yard.”
Since joining Strohm, she has entered a new technical environment: the pipes, installation processes, and completion procedures were all unfamiliar at first. She embraced it as an opportunity to grow. “Every day I learn something new, and I really like that.”
One of the aspects she enjoys most about her role is contributing to improvements within the pipe completion process. She often takes initiative to make technical information clearer and more accessible for colleagues working in the yard. By organizing and preparing documentation in a more practical way, she helps ensure that teams have the right information available during execution. “When the team tells me that something I prepared really helps them, that makes me proud,” she says.
Her role requires attention to detail and close monitoring of technical instructions. In pipe completion, small errors can have large consequences: “If you follow the instructions carefully, you can detect problems early and fix them. But if something is missed, it can cause delays or extra work,” she says.
Recently, Yaritza and her team faced such a challenge when a key component for a project arrived damaged. Instead of stopping the process, the team worked together to minimize the impact while waiting for a replacement part. The experience highlighted the importance of teamwork and flexibility when working on complex engineering projects.
Beyond the technical side of her role, Yaritza appreciates the collaborative culture within Strohm. Working closely with colleagues from different departments has helped her learn quickly and adapt to the new environment. “Every day you share ideas and experiences with different people,” she says. “That helps you learn faster.”
Moving to the Netherlands has also been an exciting personal step. Outside of work, Yaritza enjoys cooking, exercising, and exploring new places. Living in Europe has opened opportunities to travel, and she already has a list of destinations she hopes to visit, including Switzerland, the Alsace region, and Verona.