Employee Spotlight: Meet Norem Soriano

Norem Soriano  |  Sr. IT Service Manager  |  Alameda, CA

Q. What is your role at Penumbra?

As Sr. IT Service Manager, I manage Tier 1, Tier 2, and Systems Support Engineering teams. We are the first responders to IT issues and escalations. We track and analyze incidents for continual service improvements. We ensure that all IT SLAs (Service Level Agreements) are met and even exceeded.

We work closely with end users to not only help them with their IT challenges, but to also train/enhance their knowledge, so they can be more productive in their roles. We continually create and develop innovative IT processes that allow for increased automation, accomplishing more with less manual intervention, giving technicians and engineers more time to focus on solving complex and critical issues at hand.

Q. What aspects of your job do you enjoy most?

I enjoy the challenges of turning IT management escalations from a stressful situation to a positive interaction with end users. I find it very rewarding and gratifying to improve IT perception. I take great pride in building strong cohesive teams through learning from each situation, learning from each other, collaborating, and transparent communication.

Q. Describe a travel adventure that you’ll never forget.

I went on a helicopter ride in Kauai where I saw hundreds of waterfalls flowing simultaneously and a perfectly circular rainbow for the very first time. It was surreal and fantastic.

Q. Before working at Penumbra, what was the most unusual or interesting job you’ve ever had?

I learned how to be a live sound engineer. I believe music is the true universal language. It soothes the soul by releasing tension and helps decompress from daily stress.

Q. What are three career lessons you’ve learned thus far?

• Sharing and documenting IT tribal knowledge improves knowledge base and enhances working relationships, thus fostering cooperation and mutual trust.
• Realizing that we can all learn from one another, at all levels, from beginner to technically advanced.
• Pacing yields success without placing undue stress on the entire group. I used to sprint through projects, thinking that everything is a priority and must be completed at great speed, leading to team burn out. Long-term permanent results come from pacing one’s team like running a marathon.

Q. What professional development work have you pursued recently?

I became an AWS Cloud Computing Migration SME (Subject Matter Expert).