SCOUTS GO FARTHER - MAYA DAVIS
Welcome to our first Scout Motors employee spotlight featuring Project Steering Manager, Maya Davis.
Where do you call home?
Maryland.
What motivates you at work?
What motivates me the most at work is leading a dynamic, creative, and hardworking team. Working with them to find critical solutions to design issues makes the job fun. I must admit that eventually driving a Scout® vehicle with my family and knowing the work that went into every detail, from the grab handles to the materials in the seats, is also a key motivation.
How did you get into your current field?
I grew up restoring old BMW® cars with my father, which was one of the main reasons I joined the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) in the fourth grade. Tying together my love for engineering and my hobby led me on a journey to the automotive sector. I started off my career completing my master’s thesis with Harley Davidson® and then proceeded to work with BMW AG (BMW Germany, BMW South Carolina, Rolls Royce®), Tesla® Motors, and now Scout Motors.
What does a typical day at Scout Motors look like for you?
My day usually consists of pure collaboration meetings. As a team, we decide on interior and exterior concepts, think critically about part costs, and evaluate supplier strategies. We make big decisions daily, focusing on keeping the spirit of the vehicle and prioritizing the customer.
What was exciting to you about joining Scout Motors?
There are few opportunities to join a company early on and build a vehicle as cool as a Scout. The history behind the Scout brand, the opportunity to make an impact, and having the expertise/support from a large OEM were all key factors.
What skills do you use on an everyday basis?
Most of my day focuses on collaboration. The skills I use the most are problem-solving, technical estimation, and efficient communication.
What has been one highlight of your journey here so far?
The Scout Motors Groundbreaking was genuinely inspiring. At one time, I was able to see the progress we’ve made so far, check out the different Scout vehicles, meet people who worked at the original factory, and feel the excitement from the local community and my coworkers.
What is one thing about you that most folks don’t know?
I’ve travelled to 42 countries and can play four instruments.
What is your favorite hobby?
Playing music with my sister, video games with my husband, and working on cars with my father.
If you could travel anywhere, where would you go and why?
I would go back to Port Au Prince, Haiti. For my undergraduate research project, I traveled there to support local Haitian Engineers at an NGO building slow sand water filters. I’d love to see the impact and communicate with the team there. That project was an invaluable learning experience, and the intelligence, culture, and pride of the community in Port Au Prince made Haiti one of my favorite places to have traveled.
If you could go back and tell your 13-year-old self anything, what would it be?
Remain empowered in your decisions and encouraged in your actions. Engineering isn’t impossible. You will continue to look, experience, and learn a little differently than everyone around you, that is your superpower.
Where do you hope to be in five years?
Personally, in five years I hope to be off-roading in a Scout SUV with my husband and Dog, refurbishing an original 1977 Scout II with my Dad, and even more active in my community and at my alma mater.
Professionally, I hope to be the face of disruption in the automotive industry. I want to prioritize human-centered design and find quicker, cheaper, sustainable ways to positively impact my community.
