Barb Strajnic, assistant chief program engineer for the Lincoln Nautilus.

Strajnic began her tenure at Ford in 2000 as part of the Manufacturing Leadership Program. Prior to her current role, she helped bring the current model year Ford Edge to market, playing a key role in the launch and program control, before becoming the program studio supervisor for the next generation Super Duty.

A graduate of Purdue University, Strajnic earned her bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, as well as her master’s degree in manufacturing management. Her areas of study were inspired by her father, who is also an electrical engineer.

Working in automotive was not always on her radar. Strajnic said when she was younger, she wanted to be an archeologist or a veterinarian. “Somehow along the way, my trajectory changed, and I ended up with a co-op assignment at a local GM Foundry in my hometown – that’s where my automotive career started and I never looked back,” she said.

In her spare time, Strajnic enjoys gardening and fishing with her husband – both at home in the Great Lakes and on vacation.