Finding Impact and Balance: My Early Career Story

Throughout my time in university double majoring in Mechanical Engineering and Theatre, I always found it difficult to pin-point exactly where my skill set would take me. With my confidence in communication through Theatre and my technical background in Engineering, I knew that what I wanted most was to be in a position that is interpersonal, technical and impactful. Never did I think that I would end up in the construction industry – construction didn’t appear new, exciting or shiny – but I sure am glad I did.

I found Hilti through a career fair at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. “I’m not sure if designing tools is exactly what I’m looking for,” I naively thought. In discussion with the team members hosting the booth, Jake Burrell and Sam Burt, though, I quickly learned that Hilti is much more than a tool company. When I was told that I would be discussing Hilti opportunities and providing technical data to structural engineers and internal team members, I became more intrigued. A combination of technical and social is what I’d built my education around, but construction had never crossed my mind. Regardless, I decided to give Hilti a shot and officially applied for the Technical Support Engineer Internship.

Sinan at his graduation from Southern Methodist University. He graduated with a double major in Mechnical Engineering and Theatre. 

What My Internship Taught Me About Construction

Some deeper dives into the company’s background followed by anxious preparation and a few interviews later, I received an offer and began my internship in the Summer of 2023 at Hilti North America Headquarters in Plano, Texas. Throughout my internship, my initial disposition was confirmed: construction is not shiny. It became clear that construction is a hard, strenuous, labor-intensive and time-dependent industry built upon decades of traditional means and methods.

It is simultaneously one of the largest industries in the world with countless projects across the globe continually in progress – construction is always there (as I am sure many of us frustratingly note while driving). Not only is it ever-present, but construction is also a leading contributor to carbon emissions impacting the world we all share. So, how do all of these come together? One of the largest industries is simultaneously difficult for designers and contractors, constantly in motion and growing, and is also harmful to the planet… Construction is not shiny… but it could be polished.

Learning about Hilti’s unique position to make construction better – a global need for safety, productivity and sustainability – I began to feel the sense of purpose that was missing during my initial job search, and the people-centered culture of Hilti made it all the more appealing. With that, the end of my internship came along with an offer to join full time in February of 2024, and I decided to accept the offer.

Sinan with a TE 30-22, one of Hilti's cordless rotary hammers.

From a Hilti Internship to a Full Time Position

In the time between my internship and starting full time, I graduated at the top of my class in December of 2023, traveled to Iceland, Ireland and the United Kingdom to see one of my scripts produced at a festival while also directing another play myself, then returned home to prepare for a workshop of a new play I had written to take place at a theater in Dallas. While this time was exciting, I couldn’t help but wonder if such a commitment to the Arts would be sustainable while working at Hilti. I had a sense of purpose in the work, but what about that other part of me? During my internship I was acting in a show at a theater in Plano (which much of the TSE team kindly came to see) but that was when I was an intern. What about as a full-time engineer?

When I walked into the office on February 5, 2024, I was met with the same warm, welcoming and social environment I had received as an intern and began to learn my new role in-depth. Primarily learning about decking at the beginning, I saw proof of Hilti’s position in making construction better. Using design software, our team made proposals to change the fastening information of metal deck to support structures to include direct fasteners in lieu of welding – a simple adjustment that could save hours of welding while being safer, easier to inspect and more cost-effective for the contractor. I would then go on to learn about post-installed anchors, which offer versatility and ease in place of the more traditional cast-in anchors. After gaining knowledge in those fields, I was then equipped to address questions from structural engineers and internal team members via email and phones, allowing me to grow in my ability to communicate technical topics as a fully trained Technical Support Engineer (TSE) with Hilti.

However, Hilti fosters and rewards curiosity. I quickly wanted to learn more about the topics within my position. For decking substitution requests, I wanted to grow into a role such that I would check the quality of the team’s reports instead of just generating them on my own. For anchoring into concrete, I wanted to gain more expertise on the calculation process and codes around them. By communicating those curiosities to my managers, I was then put on track to be promoted to a TSE II relatively quickly, such that by the end of 2024 I was learning how to quality control decking submittals and become a trainer on the team.

Sinan during his internship after performing in a show attended by TSE coworkers.

Growing at Hilti: From TSE to Leadership Opportunities

Throughout 2025, I trained newer TSE members on decking, anchoring calculations and emails to ensure accurate and helpful insight is given to engineers inside and outside of Hilti. With those newer responsibilities I have also taken on more leadership initiatives, such as becoming an intern mentor, joining the Marketing and Engineering Peer Leadership Council Team, championing GEOS efforts and working on developing initiatives for Hilti North America related to TSE. Safe to say, as a new engineer, Hilti provided the resources and opportunities to match my curiosity and ambition while also proving to be an impactful company that addresses a global need. This continuous commitment to team member development and strong strategic vision is what makes Hilti uniquely enticing to engineers of all experience levels, but especially early-career engineers.

I am proud to say that Hilti has also brought a sense of work-life balance that I did not think possible among other engineering companies. Since joining Hilti full-time in February of 2024, I have directed six productions, acted in five professional plays and have had three of the scripts I’ve written produced. I am grateful to have had friends from Hilti present at each production as well (especially the brave ones who sat through my 3-hour production of Hamlet). If you are ever curious about what I am working on next, feel free to reach out!

So, if you are an early career engineer looking for a company that promotes healthy and sustainable career growth while allowing for a sense of work-life balance that also strives to create innovative solutions to problems within a tenured and demanding industry, Hilti may be for you!

Explore Opportunities at Hilti

At Hilti, we are committed to creating opportunities for our team members to connect with one another and develop meaningful and long-lasting careers with impact. Learn more and explore our opportunities in North America and worldwide here: Jobs | Hilti Careers