We believe in working as One Company, empowering our people to bring their whole selves to work in our offices around the globe. At Entuitive, our team members have the opportunity to relocate within our offices on short- and long-term work assignments, which we call mobility assignments. These assignments are a great way to grow your career, meet new people, and, of course, see new places.  

Recently, we had the opportunity to sit down with Ivy Liang, Intermediate Engineer, to hear her story on her mobility assignment from Toronto to Vancouver.

Thank you for taking the time to chat with us, Ivy. Can you tell us more about when you first joined Entuitive?    

I’m currently an Intermediate Engineer working in the bridges team. I started at Entuitive in the Toronto office in 2019 when Brown & Company Engineering Ltd. joined the firm. I joined Brown and Co. in 2018 and I’ve been working with the same team ever since. It was a smooth transition to Entuitive. At first, the Brown & Co. team were working closer together, but then we started to integrate into more Entuitive projects. It helps that everyone at Entuitive is very nice and collaborative.

That’s great to hear you felt immediately welcomed at Entuitive. Since you were in the Toronto office for quite a few years, what made you decide to go to Vancouver? 

I first thought of moving in 2021. A large part of my decision was to be closer to my parents and my brother who all live in Vancouver. With the pandemic, I couldn’t see them in-person for over two and a half years.

Since we had already transitioned to a flexible hybrid work model, I asked Megan Rhind and Stephen Brown about the possibility of moving. They were both supportive from the beginning when I was sharing my plans with them for the west coast.

Megan also discussed how this could be a great opportunity for me to help grow our bridge engineering services in Vancouver. The timing also worked out perfectly since Hadi Aghahassani joined our Vancouver office as a Senior Bridge Engineer in January of 2022. I was excited to have another bridge team member that I could work with in-person when I arrived. I made my move this past May, and it’s been great to learn from Hadi and have someone to support me in the office if I ever have any questions.

Making waffles together in the kitchen of the Vancouver office.

That must’ve been tough not being able to see your family for quite some time. We’re happy you took the initiative to move to Vancouver. How has the transition been?

The transition has been quite smooth. At first, there were many logistics to figure out, such as finding housing in Vancouver. Luckily, I was able to take my time with no rush or pressure before the big move.

It was also tough saying goodbye to my Toronto colleagues, but we still talk on a daily basis. I’m trying my best to schedule as many visits throughout the year as possible. I actually visited Toronto back in August to attend Andrea Green’s wedding. It was incredible to see everybody and catch up!

Now, I’ve been living in Vancouver for a few months and I’ve been really enjoying it. I like how our office is smaller. We have almost 30 team members now, and we’re growing quite fast. Our office is currently making room for more desks and monitors as more new team members will be joining us in the next few months.

A special midday yoga session in the Vancouver office.

It has been incredible to see the growth of our Vancouver team! What have been some cool projects you’re working on?  

It’s been an exciting and busy time as we got our first big bridge project in Vancouver. The Pattullo Bridge is very popular in the city. We’ve been having to work fast on the project since it’s a very old bridge that’s not in great condition since so many people use it daily. When I tell my colleagues or friends that I’m working on Pattullo, they always tell me that I better do a good job on it since it’s such an important bridge.

We’re excited to see the progress of the Pattullo Bridge rehabilitation. What are your future plans and goals at Entuitive? 

I’m looking forward to designing more unique bridges that I can proudly visit and see whenever I’m going around different cities. With bridges, I especially enjoy working on the technical parts and tying in number crunching as well. There’s a lot of growth for Entuitive’s bridge services on the west coast that I’m excited to see!

Thank you so much for chatting with us Ivy, and we’re excited to see where your career at Entuitive will take you!  

If you would like to reach out to Ivy, you can do so here.