At Trane, everything starts with engineering and Lindsay D’Albani is one of our best. D’Albani is a Senior Test Engineer in Clarksville, Tennessee and loves her engineering career at Trane because it’s flexible, interesting, and collaborative.
Lindsay D’Albani spent six years in the U.S. Army, where she was a flight engineer on Chinook, CH-47D helicopters before she enrolled in college. “I wouldn't trade my time in the military for anything,” said D’Albani. “It really helped shape me into the person I am, and I learned a lot about responsibility and teamwork.”
After the Army, D’Albani attended Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee, not far from where she had been stationed at Fort Campbell. She studied a lot of different things – nursing, economics, accounting – but had trouble finding a good fit. Then she tried engineering.
“We had an engineering technology program and it just felt right to me,” said D’Albani. “It was the most engaging class I had taken; I just wanted to learn more. It combines tasks I really enjoy: problem-solving, hands-on work, and collaborating with a team.”
Soon after graduating, D’Albani started at Trane in the Electrical Design Team for the Unitary product lines. Almost immediately, she sensed the camaraderie and teamwork she enjoyed so much in the Army. Seven years later, she moved to the Trane Design Lab, in Clarksville, Tennessee, where she is now a senior test engineer,
“I've transitioned into the lab, and it’s provided the opportunity to learn more about the entire unit,” said D’Albani. “Before, I was focused on the electrical subsystem, harnesses, and components. Now, I get to learn a lot more about the refrigeration, gas and electric heat, airflow, and cabinet subsystems.”
To some degree, the lab is like a playground for D’Albani, where she can apply different testing technologies to diagnose and fix a wide range of issues. “I really enjoy troubleshooting,” she said. “When we have a problem and there might not be a clear solution, but we have to figure it out; we have to deliver.”
For the lab team, ensuring quality is the most important thing they do. Delivering accurate data helps internal customers make the appropriate design tweaks to produce the best possible products. D’Albani gets a lot of satisfaction from playing a part in a larger number of projects as well as jumping in to help out whenever needed. “I get to work on almost every Unitary project now, where before I would work on a single project for over a year,” she said.
While D’Albani also recognizes that being a woman in a male-dominated field can present challenges, she doesn’t let it distract her.
“I've always felt it didn't matter whether people saw me as a woman or Asian or anything they might use to define me,” she said. “This was what I wanted to do, and I wasn't going to let anybody stop me.”
As she grew with Trane, D’Albani began to take advantage of company resources, joining employee resource groups and other team building activities. Recently, she has been embracing training opportunities to boost diverse hiring.
She’s learned that a strong hiring process makes it easier to choose the best person for the job, and having a diverse pool is a big part of that equation. In turn, having a wider variety of people and ideas just make the job better.
“The diversity here is incredible,” said D’Albani. “There are so many backgrounds, and I get to interact with people from different locations across the world.”
After eight years at Trane, she loves testing herself against each new challenge and enjoys being part of a team, particularly one that shares a common mission.
“Everybody wants to do things the right way and safely, even if it's not the easiest way,” said D’Albani. “Trane emphasizes the same values I’ve always had, like integrity, honesty and perseverance. It makes me proud to work for this company.”
Trane is a strategic business of Trane Technologies, a global climate innovator. Trane Technologies brings bold thinking to our customers to advance the conversation on sustainability and achieve more through sustainable climate solutions for buildings, homes, and transportation. We're leading the way to a better future, and we boldly go.