From Graduate Engineer to Siemens Team Lead

Brazilian-born Alessandra Sternberg has built her international career by steadily taking on more responsibility. She joined Siemens in the U.K. in 2016 as a graduate engineer. From there, she moved into team management and became a systems engineering team lead at Siemens Mobility in the Netherlands.

Her career progression up to that point gave her deep technical experience. However, it also made her curious about the decisions happening beyond engineering.

Alessandra reflects, “I wanted to have more knowledge about strategy, [and] about how decisions are made.” (00:25)

That curiosity eventually led her to ESMT Berlin’s Part-time MBA. Rather than leaving engineering behind, Alessandra wanted to understand the bigger business picture around it.

The MBA became a practical way to build on her successful technical career and prepare for broader leadership responsibilities.

When Technical Expertise Was No Longer Enough

Engineering had shaped Alessandra’s career, but she wanted a broader view of how businesses actually work.

As she moved into leadership, questions around strategy, competitiveness, and corporate decision-making became increasingly important. She wanted to understand not just how systems are built, but how large organizations decide what to prioritize.

That knowledge gap is what pushes many candidates toward an MBA. Rather than moving away from engineering, ESMT Berlin allows students to add business acumen to the technical experience they have already built.

For Alessandra, that combination could help her contribute more confidently to decisions beyond her immediate team. 

Why Siemens and ESMT Berlin Already Had a Connection

ESMT Berlin, an international, practice-oriented business school in Germany, was not a random choice for Alessandra. The school was founded in 2002 by 25 leading global companies and institutions, such as BOSCH, DHL, SAP, and Allianz.

Siemens is one of the school’s founding companies, and that existing relationship made the program especially relevant to her. Several case studies also connected directly to challenges she recognized from her day-to-day work.

“Because of the connections that ESMT has with companies and my own company being a founding company, it was very encouraging that I would go there,” she reflects. (00:55)

That familiarity gave Alessandra confidence that the MBA curriculum would align with real business problems. It also meant she could study ideas with a clear link to the organization where she was already building her career.

An MBA She Could Bring Straight Back to Work

Taking a career break was never in Alessandra’s plans. That made ESMT Berlin’s Part-time MBA a natural fit.

The flexible format lets students continue working while studying, with three-quarters of the program online and one-quarter taught in person in Berlin.

“Having a part-time program where I didn’t have to take a career break was a hard requirement for me,” she says. “I’m passionate about the projects that I have at my company. I didn’t want to have to stop.” (01:18)

The format also gave her something beyond flexibility: the chance to test ideas almost immediately. She could take lessons from the classroom and apply them directly to real-world projects at work.

That made Siemens’ support especially important. Alessandra describes the arrangement as a “win-win” because she grew professionally while bringing fresh knowledge back into the company.

Instead of separating study from work, the MBA became part of how she continued growing in both at once.

What a Confessed Perfectionist Learned From China

One of Alessandra’s biggest MBA highlights came far from Berlin.

During ESMT Berlin’s international field seminar in China, she visited companies, explored different business models, and saw how organizations operate in a very different market.

She shares, “It was very mind-opening. I had never been to Asia before.” (02:17)

What struck her most was the speed and dynamism of the environment. For someone who describes herself as a perfectionist, that experience challenged the idea that everything must be perfectly aligned before action begins.

Alessandra returned to Siemens with a new perspective: sometimes progress comes from moving faster, testing ideas, and learning along the way.

Sometimes You Have to Jump Before Everything Is Ready

Alessandra’s biggest takeaway from the MBA may be the simplest: growth rarely arrives at the perfect moment.

Reflecting on her experience, she says, “I’m a perfectionist. So sometimes I feel like everything has to be in its place and aligned for me to do the best work possible.” (02:34) 

Starting the program challenged that instinct. Instead of waiting for every part of life to line up, she chose to move first and adapt along the way. With that new outlook, she admits, “Sometimes it also pays off to just take a chance and go and do something.” (02:47)

That decision was worth it in the end. Alessandra has continued leading at Siemens Mobility while expanding how she thinks about strategy, business, and leadership. 

Her journey shows that career growth does not always mean changing direction. Sometimes, it means broadening your view of the path you are already on. 

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