Elisa Jeffery

Tell us a bit about yourself – What is your current role? What other roles/areas have you worked in?

Hi I’m Elisa and I’m a Design Engineer in Product Development. Before coming to ResMed I worked in a product consultancy where I designed a range of things from electrical sockets to pool lights and chlorinators.

As a child what did you want to be when you grew up?

Were you always destined for a STEM career?
I had no idea what I wanted to be when I was young and even in high school I still wasn’t sure! I knew though that I liked drawing and making things with my hands. I was always building things for my room or sculpting things and really enjoyed art in high school. I remember reading about industrial design when I was trying to choose what I would study at uni – it sounded so cool. It’s crazy that it had never occurred to me before that the things we use everyday had been designed by someone (probably an engineer or an industrial designer). It’s amazing the influence that design can have on our lives. We tend not to think about when things work well but when things are designed badly it can be so frustrating, time consuming and put someone in such a bad mood.

What is your favourite part of your job?

Talking to the people who use our products. We learn so much from them, what are the good things that are working well but also what are the things that we need to make better. It makes it really challenging trying to come up with a solution that works for everyone but when you do it’s so great to know that we’ve made the best product that you could.

What do you enjoy doing outside of work?

Running in the mountains and spending time out in nature and away from the hustle and bustle of the city and traffic.

What is something you know now that you wish you could tell your younger self?

It’s ok to not have all the answers and it’s ok to admit if you don’t understand something. No one can be an expert at everything but everyone has the ability to learn.

Would you rather go 500 years into the future or 500 years into the past?

500 years in the past. I love the simplicity of what life was like back then… before we started getting distracted by smartphones and social media. I think technology is great but sometimes question whether it makes life easier or more complicated!