Hear from our crew about what it’s like working with a world-class team on the next generation of battery energy storage products.

Alexsandra Rospirski is a Power Electronics Engineer. She brings a wealth of experience in battery management systems. She recently relocated from Brazil and has been making a home in Melbourne with her husband and four-year-old son.

What initially drew you to Relectrify as a place to work?

Before joining Relectrify, I was working in Brazil with a company that was building new energy storage systems from second-life batteries from electric vehicles. My role on the team was to develop a BMS (battery management system) for the second-life batteries and DC-DC power converters.

In my role, I became interested in innovative engineering approaches for BMS in second-life batteries, which led me to the concept of cell-level control. I began to research companies that were developing and commercialising this technology and I stumbled upon a video presentation by Relectrify’s Co-Founder, Val, talking about how their groundbreaking technology could revolutionise the industry.

Discovering Relectrify was so exciting. It felt like I finally found a company that shared my passion for cleantech, and were advancing it in ways I hadn’t imagined. It seemed too good to be true.

I sent a message and my CV to the company to see if they were hiring someone with my experience, and just over a year later, I’m living in Melbourne and working at Relectrify!

In making the move to Australia and joining Relectrify, what have you found easier and what have you found harder than you thought it would be?

I thought that being away from my family would be the hardest thing about moving across the world, and it has been, but Relectrify has made it easier. I feel at home at Relectrify.
The team immediately made me feel like they really wanted me here. People kept telling me about events in the city and activities I could do with my family.

And though it’s been difficult for my son to acclimate, I can actually do more things with him in Australia than I ever could back home. In Brazil, playing in the park or walking somewhere at night didn’t feel like options for us. Plus, Melbourne has a lot of free events, parks and museums to keep him entertained.

At work, I found it more challenging than I expected to work in a language that isn’t native to me, but the process documents have been incredibly helpful. Even though we’re a startup, processes are well documented, which made it much easier for me to understand what we’re doing.

Can you describe the support you receive from leadership and colleagues at Relectrify?

I’ve received a lot of support, both inside and outside of work.

My manager has helped me develop within my role, especially carving out my role within the team. Our team is patient and thorough with our work but also, for example, when explaining to new team members like me how the company has historically made decisions and arrived at solutions. Understanding this level of detail can be really important in engineering.

Our team also goes out of their way for one another. One of my colleagues even came into the office to work with me during Christmas break because he knew that I wouldn’t be taking any time off for the holidays. Gestures like that have really made me feel appreciated and welcomed to the team.

What makes Relectrify an exciting place to work in the renewable energy industry?

I have always worked within the renewable energy space because I really believe we can make a difference and I think the future of renewables lies with energy storage systems. We need more advanced storage systems to assist in the transition away from fossil fuels and Relectrify is actively trying to solve this problem.

How would you describe the team culture at Relectrify?

I believe the team culture at Relectrify is the best part of working at Relectrify. Everyone is incredibly respectful, which I see as a significant advantage for us, especially considering the general challenges women in engineering face, as well as those coming from different countries.

The team is really diverse yet feels so integrated and I think that is pretty unique. There are many people on our team whose first language isn’t English and I find that it doesn’t matter how you speak, what your accent is, or how you solve a problem. People really champion others here. Our managers and team want to hear what we are thinking and have to contribute, and our opinions and ideas are appreciated and valued.