Design x Parinaz Sayyah
Engineer at Cruise
Illustration by Casey Magnuson
Interview conducted by Bonnie Cheng on June 1, 2021
Tell us a bit about yourself. What inspired you to become a system engineer?
I am Parinaz Sayyah, and I’m a staff system engineer at Cruise. Previously, I held the position of infotainment systems lead at Rivian, Harman International, and Fiat Chrysler Automotives. My background and research expertise during my doctorate was in electronics engineering, and now, I am a staff engineer in hardware and software system design.
I’ve always been interested in solving problems. At a young age, I was immersed in all kinds of robotics, math, and physics summer camps. I think that’s where my interest in becoming an engineer started. I found it very natural to learn and come up with solutions for complex problems. And now you might ask, “Why systems engineering?” We can think of systems engineering as how different parts of a system integrate together, relate, and work within the context of other larger systems. So basically, systems engineering is a holistic approach to problem-solving!
The beauty of systems engineering is in having system-level thinking, which is more or less a mindset. Systems thinking expands the range of choices that are available for us in solving a problem by broadening our thinking to articulate the problem in new and different ways. I feel really fortunate to have found a way to follow my passion for problem-solving and impacting people’s lives through technology.
What do you do in your current role as a systems engineer?
My day-to-day work includes mostly leading the system design for various connected car features. This can be any type of feature that can impact the overall customer experience within the car. My role as a systems engineer allows me to pair engineering with my desire to help others. I’m also very happy that I can work cross-functionally, with different organizations within Cruise to work on these features.
What interested you in getting into the automotive industry and how has it been working in an industry that is male-dominant?
I have always liked cars! It’s an empowering and satisfying feeling to work with colleagues in this industry and share and influence designs and decisions. Together, we are pushing the boundaries of next-generation mobility systems, and this is a great accomplishment. While I am working at Cruise, I am given the opportunity to show my skills and expertise in this domain, and to grow and progress as a woman within an industry known to be male-dominant. Pursuing my career in the automotive industry as a systems engineer provides me with the opportunity to show others that women can be great in technology and there’s nothing that can stop us from achieving our dreams and desires.
“…women can be great in technology and there’s nothing that can stop us from achieving our dreams and desires.”
What are your thoughts on how the in-car experience is shifting in the age of autonomous vehicles?
AVs are going to transform how we travel and what we can do while in transit. So once there’s no longer a need for a driver in these vehicles, the in-car experience will change. For example, when in an AV, we have more freedom to relax. I see a shift in the in-car experience due to the emergence of autonomous vehicles.
In the future, vehicle interiors will be an on-road extension of our living spaces, be it your living room or office, and this opens exciting new opportunities.
And the vehicles will not only be autonomous—they will share the road and interact with others. Passengers and the communities we operate in must trust that the AV is safe, and part of that means showing that it knows the same things about the journey and immediate surroundings as they do. Designing an AV that users love is a multi-dimensional problem.
Last but not least, AVs are for everyone! This means envisioning all users as having needs that require attention and hence it’s important to build an accessibility culture early on.
Can you tell us about the talk you gave at the automotive conference? What topics did you cover? How was that experience?
I gave a talk at ScaleUp 360° in Berlin. It was about infotainment systems in the age of autonomous vehicles. The presentation was a case study covering how infotainment systems have evolved given the emergence of autonomous vehicles; the past, present, and future of infotainment systems; and some of the design factors that we need to keep in mind when it comes to designing features for these systems.
“Once there is no longer a need for a driver, the in-vehicle experience will change.”
What was one of the hardest and/or rewarding designs you have worked on?
One of the projects that I worked on was bringing connectivity into one of the OEM’s infotainment systems. This was one of my first projects for a company in Europe, bringing new connectivity features to the European market. This was a challenging project because as the sole connectivity expert, I had to work cross-functionally with various teams across the globe to make sure that we can deliver stable software and hardware on time.
In the past, the company had offline infotainment systems with no connectivity capabilities, but now, vehicles are connected to the internet. This functionality comes along with complexity because the systems within the vehicle must be able to communicate with the cloud. For example, there might be an application on the user’s mobile that needs to talk to the vehicle. The cloud system must talk to the user’s mobile device system and external systems outside the vehicle while retrieving information to distribute the data in the appropriate places. So that brings a lot of complexities when it comes to infotainment features.
As a systems engineer, I have to make sure that whatever we design can communicate to these systems outside the vehicle in order to satisfy a certain feature requirement including but not limited to reliability and latency.
What are some challenges you have faced working with designers? What are some ways engineers and designers can work better together?
In general, product/UX design and engineering teams need to work very closely together. Involving system engineers and UX designers in discussions at the early stages of design passes is really important. It helps in decision-making. Especially when it comes to Agile Project Management, you need to have a short path to communicate the changes and be able to react to those changes. Speed is the key. Therefore, I think early involvement of system engineers and design discussions can be really helpful.
What is one thing designers should know about engineers?
Engineers are in a constant battle of balancing trade-offs in solving a given problem. But engineers might not have the same product design mindset when solving problems. Both designers and engineers solve problems by satisfying users’ needs from an end-to-end experience. It is important to realize this common goal.
One of the qualities that engineers look for in UX designers is not only to think of the solution from a product design perspective, but to also have an engineering mindset and consider other elements of the design such as cost, feasibility, complexity, and more.
Do you have any advice for young women who aspire to be software engineers?
It’s never too late to have good ideas. I encourage women interested in engineering to pursue it. There are a tremendous amount of opportunities available. Don’t be afraid to be bold, ask tough questions, and make choices. We need different perspectives in the automotive industry, and engineering in general.
“Don’t be afraid to be bold, ask tough questions, and make choices.”
Historically, girls have been shy about going towards engineering disciplines like electronics, mechanical, or automotive engineering. I want to be a role model and encourage them to pursue their passion. Tech jobs consistently topped as the fastest growing and highest paying in-demand jobs available today. It’s a great opportunity for young women to build that independence while working on things that they love while making an impact on the world as a whole.
Rapid Fire Questions:
What is your favorite thing to do in your free time?
Listening to audiobooks. I’m currently listening to The 48 Laws of Power.
If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
I would stop global warming. I love nature and want to protect the Earth.
What are three traits or qualities that make who you are today?
Learning, persistence, empathy.
