What is an engineering culture?

At Toyota Motor North America Research & Development (R&D), it’s kaizen and collaboration, and the best dang engineers around creating products our customers love.

R&D engineers lead design and development for Camry, Tacoma, Tundra, Sequoia and Sienna. They also play a key role in development of Corolla, Corolla Cross, RAV4, Highlander, Grand Highlander, Lexus ES, Lexus NX and Lexus RX.

That’s not to mention advanced mobility projects, powertrain development, quality and materials, among plenty of other things.

Being an engineer at Toyota is a dream job for many, and that shows in the drive that R&D engineers bring to their work every day.

To better understand the engineering culture at R&D, we asked three standouts their thoughts on what it means to be an engineer at Toyota R&D.

Randy Badia – General Manager Executive Program Manager, Tacoma Assistant Chief Engineer

What is your role at R&D?
My role is in the Product Development Office in project management for Tacoma. High level, I keep the development team and organizations aligned in our vision for the project. We’re constantly moving forward toward a common goal of safe, high-quality, exciting products that meet the customer needs and expectations.

What does it mean to be an engineer at R&D?
It means I get the opportunity to work with the best engineering team in the business. We regularly solve complex technical issues together in creative ways, and make impactful decisions that make our customers smile. That’s such a rewarding part of my job.

How would you describe the engineering culture at R&D?
We’re always challenging ourselves to be on the cutting edge of industry technology, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible without fear of failure.

R&D’s engineering culture is most evident when you look at Toyota’s long history of industry leading quality, dependability and reliability (QDR). You need a keen engineering eye for the details and it’s a constant process to improve our products through kaizen.

What is the proudest moment of your 26-year engineering career at Toyota?
Working as lead concept planner for the latest generation Tacoma and creating the Trailhunter. Watching the first Trailhunter model come off of the assembly line was such a great moment for me and my team.

Emily Deming – Engineer, Seat Engineering and Advanced Mobility

What is your role at R&D?
I’m a seat design engineer, working on Tundra and Sequoia seats and seatbelts.

What does it mean to be an engineer at R&D?
It means problem solving every day. It’s determining how to get all our stakeholders and customers the best possible design or solution while minimizing cost and timing and maximizing quality. Communicating with our stakeholders to truly understand their needs is critical. That’s how we can give them the product they want.

How would you describe the engineering culture at R&D?
It’s an all-hands effort to make the best products for our customers. All of the groups at R&D support each other in that task. R&D also has a learning and teaching culture. From the first day of the job to the last day before retirement, there’s always something new to learn and a chance to teach.

What is the proudest moment of your four-year engineering career at Toyota?
Supporting the counter measure design for a high-ranking warranty issue. With go-and-sees, new evaluations and new forms of analysis, we’re getting ready to launch the final counter measure and field fix. It was a group effort and I’m thankful for everyone who supported. It showed me that the work we do here truly makes a difference.

Scott Trahan – Principal Engineer, Powertrain Design

What is your role at R&D?
Advanced planning and development of powertrains through benchmarking, simulation, and technical problem solving.

What does it mean to be an engineer at R&D?
It’s extremely gratifying to have the opportunity to shape the future of Toyota powertrains.

How would you describe the engineering culture at R&D?
The engineering culture at R&D is made up of two aspects: Always maintaining and improving safety and quality mindsets. That collaboration is the key to delivering world class vehicles and powertrains most efficiently and effectively.

What is the proudest moment of your six-year engineering career at Toyota?
When I received my Tundra lease vehicle after years of hard work on the design team for the V6 Turbo engine.