Each year we select an employee-owner who goes above and beyond to display core values. This year, Soraya Azahari was selected as our Employee-Owner of the Year by her fellow employee-owners and our Enterprise Leadership Team. Soraya is a Senior Engineer with our water division, based in Portland, OR. She joined Parametrix in February 2022. Since then, she’s made a big impact on her team, mentoring early career professionals, contributing to projects, and always making sure everyone is having a good time.
Below, she answers a few questions about her career, advice for creating a collaborative environment, and her experience at Parametrix.
Tell us about your career. How did you become interested in water/wastewater engineering?
My journey in engineering began after earning my B.S. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Delaware in 2010.
As a recipient of a Malaysian government scholarship, I returned home to Kuala Lumpur to serve in the civil service. Unfortunately, right in the midst of a global recession. Determined to start my career, I took my first opportunity as an analyst and technical writer for the Malaysian Ministry of Science.
Soon after, my path took a more hands-on turn when I transitioned to a field engineer role with an air pollution control manufacturing company. I found myself scaling 20-meter-high chimneys and troubleshooting dust filter systems in the tropical heat across Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. It was tough gritty work, equal parts exhilarating and exhausting. But after a close call during a stack test on a 17-meter chimney, I hit pause, packed my bags, and spent a year backpacking through Southeast Asia and Australia, even teaching English in Myanmar. That experience and that unfortunate harness and rigging mishap, forever shaped my commitment to field safety and the wellbeing of those who work in challenging environments.
After three incredible years in Malaysia, I returned to Northern Virginia, married my college sweetheart, and we eventually settled in Baltimore, Maryland, where I found myself unexpectedly drawn into the world of water and wastewater engineering.
What began as a chance encounter at trivia night with fellow engineers turned into a career-defining chapter. I found myself becoming a design engineer working on a massive greenfield treatment plant upgrade in Baltimore. That project opened my eyes to the impact of clean water infrastructure and the vital role engineers play in shaping healthier communities.
What started as curiosity quickly grew into a deep passion for process mechanical design, construction, and the art of problem-solving… not to mention the craft of writing submittal, RFI, and PCO responses upon review. I loved that every day brought a new challenge and a new way to make a tangible difference.
What made you decide to join Parametrix?
When I met the Parametrix team, I was struck by the energy, authenticity, and warmth. The interview reinforced that this was a place that truly valued people, purpose, and professional growth. The culture wasn’t just talked about, it was lived.
So, I trusted my gut and joined Parametrix as an Engineer III on Valentine’s Day of 2022, though, life had other plans. My father passed away on my original Parametrix start date, and in that moment of loss, I experienced firsthand the compassion that defines Parametrix. The HR and water teams went above and beyond, showing empathy and humanity that I’ll never forget.
What has your experience been at Parametrix since then?
Since joining, I’ve advanced from Engineer III to Senior Engineer within the Water Division, working on projects that span Washington, Oregon, and Arizona. I’ve had the opportunity to wear many hats from project engineer to process mechanical lead, site civil lead, design manager, and now project manager on a variety of projects, collaborating across disciplines and regions.
Each project, each teammate, each challenge has reinforced what I love most about this work: the connection between people, between ideas, and between purpose and impact.
Soraya stamping her first design.
At Parametrix, I’ve found not just a workplace, but a community that believes in lifting each other up, sharing a laugh along the way, and always striving to make the world just a little bit better. I have had the honor and pleasure of working with many talented, driven, and knowledgeable people, crossing disciplines, and crossing regions which really makes me feel connected to everyone in the company despite the geographic distances.
Collaboration and fun were key themes in your employee-owner of the year nominations. What strategies or habits have helped you foster that kind of environment?
Collaboration and fun are two things I always strive to bring into every team I work with. Over time, I’ve found a few key habits and strategies that help foster that kind of environment, whether across offices, regions, or time zones:
- Open communication and regular check-ins are essential. They not only keep projects moving forward but also create a space for open dialogue and cooperation.
- Recognizing people’s efforts goes a long way. Everyone is working hard toward the same goal and showing gratitude for the big and small contributions builds motivation and trust.
- Leading with humanity and vulnerability helps strengthen bonds within a team. When you share your authentic self, even the challenges, it encourages others to do the same, creating a culture of empathy and support.
- Celebrating milestones and moments that matter like project wins, birthdays, or even a simple “kudos” reinforces that sense of community and shared success.
- Injecting humor during stressful times is my go-to strategy. When projects get hectic or we’re thrown a curveball, finding a moment to laugh together turns tension into teamwork. Those moments of shared levity often become the ones we remember most.
- Making updates more engaging helps keep collaboration alive. When I send project updates or recap emails, I like to add a little color (literally) or even a quick haiku or rhyme. It keeps things fun, breaks up the “wall of text,” and helps people stay engaged and connected to the work.
- Leveraging Teams group chats has also been key. They provide a more casual and human way to stay connected, especially for remote teams. It’s where camaraderie grows, ideas flow, and nothing brings out more fun and collaboration more than a perfectly timed meme or GIF that can make everyone’s day. IYKIYK.
At the end of the day, collaboration and fun go hand in hand. When people feel connected, supported, and seen, they naturally bring their best selves to the work, and that’s when the “magic” happens. And by “magic,” I mean high-quality project deliverables, of course.
What do you enjoy most about being an employee-owner at Parametrix?
What I enjoy most about being an employee-owner at Parametrix is that it truly feels like we are contributing directly to this company. It’s not just a place we clock into, but something we all help shape together.
There’s a real sense of shared purpose here. When we win a project, celebrate a milestone, or even survive a particularly wild design deadline, it feels like a team victory because we all have a stake in it. I love that sense of ownership. It’s motivating, empowering, and I truly feel that I am growing technically and professionally.
And honestly, it’s the people. The genuine collaboration, the laughter during meetings, the knowledge share, the memes that somehow perfectly summarize our project struggles… that’s what makes being an employee-owner special. We get to do meaningful work, grow together, and still have fun along the way. As Hilary Duff once said, “hey now, hey now, this is what [consulting] dreams are made of. I’ve got somewhere I belong.”
What are you looking forward to in the coming year?
This year I’m looking forward to continuing my quest for the perfect balance between project management and design management roles, pursuits, scoping projects, design work, mentoring, and caffeine intake.
I’m excited to take on new challenges, the kind that make me say, “Sure, I can figure that out…,” and then immediately open my trusty PE resource binder, call up our subject-matter experts and a dozen Bluebeam PDF markups later, hopefully reach a solution.
I also look forward to mentoring early-career engineers. I hope to prepare them for fieldwork, and any construction related activities, which is a lot of problem-solving on the job and most importantly prioritizing safety.
And of course, I’m always excited to collaborate across teams to provide meaningful solutions to assist our clients, because nothing says “team bonding” like troubleshooting a pump startup in the rain.
In all seriousness, I’m eager for more opportunities to lead multidisciplinary projects, work with amazing clients, and contribute to designs that make our communities cleaner, safer, more resilient, and more sustainable.
Outside of work, I am looking forward to traveling more to expand our daughter’s worldview and eating our way through the globe, trying as much delicious food as possible.
And if I can manage to do all that without adding another espresso machine to my collection, that’ll be my biggest professional achievement yet. Here’s to another year of engineering excellence, a few controlled chaos moments, and lots of laughter along the way.