Ilaria Raniero

How long have you been with the company?
I’ve been with Radial for a little over a year.

How has your career grown since starting at Radial?
Whenever you join a new company, there is a lot to learn in terms of teams and processes. When I first joined Radial, I worked with my manager to create a development plan so that I could onboard quickly and understand all the different facets of the company. I believe this allowed me to grow fast within the team and organization.

There are four specific areas I worked with my manager to develop when I first joined Radial. The first was establishing my team, how we work together and improving the tools we use on a daily basis. The second was gaining a deeper understanding of our network so I knew how each site operates and how to best support the local teams. The third area was learning more about eCommerce technologies and how it has evolved in the past few years. And finally, the fourth area was meeting and integrating with the other Radial teams I work with closely, specifically the pricing, sales and transportation teams, to understand how my group can best support their initiatives and projects.

There is always more to learn, but I’m proud of the progress I have made in one year.

Are there any notable mentors or peers you feel have contributed to your growth/ success?
My direct manager has definitely contributed to my success within Radial and is continuing to do so every day. I have also learned so much from my direct reports on the solutions engineering team – they have been instrumental in my growth and have helped me understand the tools and processes that we use. And finally, my peers within the larger engineering team, including implementation and optimization engineering. Each member is so knowledgeable and good at what they do, so having the opportunity to work closely with them has taught me a lot and has led to our success as a wider team.

What does your day-to-day look like? What are the main responsibilities of your role?
My main responsibilities revolve around designing engineering solutions for new and existing clients and ensuring that current solutions are meeting client needs.

For each new client, my team and I perform a data analysis to determine the concept of operations, physical infrastructure and technology needed for each space. We determine this based on factors such as inventory requirements, growth forecasts for the next five years, peak season requirements and packaging needs. Once we understand the unique client profile, we develop a few different customized solutions and choose the best one in collaboration with the client.

For larger clients, if we don’t have current physical space available, we will engineer entirely new buildings in a location that makes the most sense for the client’s customer base. For each new site, we decide the labor needs and develop the unique workflows to meet capacity and storage requirements. We also develop highly customized solutions with new robotics technologies to meet the peak requirements and service-level agreement components.

My day-to-day work is always evolving, but a large piece is supporting my team in our solution design process, data analysis and engineering models to determine the most appropriate concepts of operations for new or existing clients. Another large part of my day is dedicated to interacting directly with clients to present solutions, collaborate and ensure we are on the same page throughout the engineering process. And finally, my team and I always find time for innovation and creative thinking. We work together to identify new robotics technologies and innovations to support the explosive growth of eCommerce and to overcome new challenges that come along with that.

What motivates you to wake up and go to work?
First and foremost is my team. I’m so proud of each individual and what we are able to accomplish together. Even though we are working remotely, we come together every morning to talk about priorities for the day and ensure that each team member is set up for success. We support each other to ensure we are always presenting the best possible solution for each client.

Next would be the variety of clients and projects we work on. We work with small and large businesses in a wide range of industries, and each requires a unique solution, which keeps my job challenging and interesting.

And of course, my passion for innovation. My team and I have the opportunity to explore new technologies to support large and small clients alike, which is definitely motivating.

What is your favorite part of your job/ what do you like most about working at Radial?
I love the work environment. We are very collaborative within the larger engineering team. As part of this – and within Radial as a whole – there is a real desire to support and elevate employees’ differences as a strength.

Where do you see yourself within Radial in the next few years/ what are your goals?
My goals are to expand my team, accelerate growth and continuously improve processes and solution offerings for clients. I’m focused on growing in my current role to ensure my team is the best it can possibly be.

What is your favorite non-work specific thing about your job? (i.e., breakroom games, onsite activities, awards, colleagues, etc.)
Although my team is remote, we still manage to come together regularly. Beyond meeting every day, we also get together for team activities throughout the year. Last summer, for example, we met in Kentucky and spent the day outside, relaxing and getting to know each other on a more personal level.

We also have team socials online where we schedule time in our day to get together and connect on topics outside of work.

Lastly, we have a monthly award called the solutions engineering award, which is given to the team member who led and won the biggest project in the previous month. We actually have a WWE championship belt that we ship to the winner each month, which is a really fun way to stay connected in a virtual world.

What is one word you would use to describe working at Radial?
I have two words: continuous learning. I love the fact that our job is never the same – it’s always evolving because eCommerce is changing so rapidly. As the industry continues to grow and evolve, so do too client expectations and the solutions we need to deliver.

What is the best career lesson you have learned so far?
To be humble and to be willing to take risks. It’s critical to continue to push yourself outside of your comfort zone in order to succeed. Otherwise, it’s easy to get ‘stuck’, which makes it difficult to grow – both personally and professionally.

What is a fun fact that most people don’t know about you?
I was born and raised in Italy but have lived in many countries through my work and studies, including Chile, Brazil, Israel and China. For each country I lived in, I had to adapt and learn the language, which made me appreciate diverse people, cultures and backgrounds even more so than I did before.

What do you like to do in your free time?
I was a competitive swimmer throughout my life and am still very active today. I exercise nearly every day and sail in Boston during the summers. I also enjoy painting and playing the piano.

As part of my continuous learning journey, I am also currently taking an online program at MIT about supply chain engineering.

What is one thing you can’t live without?
My faith and values.