Community Spotlights are special features to introduce you to the amazing folks transforming manufacturing as part of the Tulip Community.
Get to Know Nicolette Naya
Nicolette Naya is a Senior MES Engineer at Tiffany and Co. with a background in material science and engineering. She started as an intern at Tiffany's Rhode Island facility and later joined the company full-time, taking on large-scale Tulip projects to digitize production across multiple facilities. You may have heard Nicolette’s name before because she was a Tulip 2023 Golden Shovel winner and more recently, she received the Charles Lewis Tiffany Award for Excellence for her contributions to digital transformation at Tiffany.
A Love for Precision (and Baked Goods)
Nicolette’s passions range from skiing and traveling to immerse herself in new cultures, to exploring her Boston neighborhood and experimenting in the kitchen with a new recipe every week. Yet, it was one of her earliest hobbies—baking—that ultimately influenced her academic path at the University of Connecticut.
“Growing up, I enjoyed baking,” she shares. “I was interested in the precise measurements and the satisfaction of detailed cake decoration. Even now, baking remains an interest of mine. I’d still consider myself more of a baker than a cook because I love the science of baking.”
These early experiences initially inspired her to pursue an undergraduate chemistry degree. However, a transformative internship working with advanced materials technology ignited a new passion for the engineering side of things—specifically, materials science, which she calls “the chemistry of engineering.” She was drawn to the challenge of courses like thermodynamics and mechanical behavior of materials. This knowledge now plays a key role in her career, helping her understand how metals such as platinum, gold, and silver are transformed from raw materials into high-quality jewelry.
Seeing Material Science in Action
Nicolette's professional journey at Tiffany & Co. began with an internship in process engineering, just down the road from where she grew up. “I spent a better portion of my life in Rhode Island, and I didn’t even know Tiffany had a manufacturing facility in my home state,” she recalls.
During her internship, Nicolette worked on various projects across multiple departments, giving her insight into the intricacies of the manufacturing processes. She particularly enjoyed the casting department because she was able to apply her material science knowledge firsthand and get hands-on with how metals are formed.
From these experiences, Nicolette realized she wanted to delve deeper into the technical aspects of manufacturing, so joining Tiffany full-time was an easy choice for her.
“I started at Tiffany as a process engineer for our holloware department which is best known for making trophies for sporting events around the globe. Soon after, I began working with the waxing department, which is the first step of the metal casting process. I was tasked with a project to integrate Tulip into an ‘In Process Quality Control’ (IPQC) application. That’s where I had my first introduction to this platform.”
Mastering Tulip and Becoming a Next-Gen MES Engineer
Nicolette found herself in the exciting position of learning Tulip. “I had to build these applications from the ground up. It was an incredible experience and helped me gain a good foundation for all things Tulip.” She realized she had a strength for building user-friendly apps, so when a Senior Manufacturing Execution System (MES) Engineer position opened up, Nicolette thought it was a great opportunity to continue along this path.
In this role, Nicolette balances managing new projects with overseeing legacy products on the shop floor. Over the past year, she spearheaded the integration of the company’s ERP system with Tulip, a project now implemented across multiple manufacturing sites. This initiative not only showcased her technical expertise but also highlighted her natural leadership skills. Nicolette trained and mentored other Tulip citizen developers, collaborated with operators on the shop floor, and worked cross-functionally to ensure a smooth rollout of the changes.
One of her favorite aspects of the ERP project was collaborating with team members across diverse disciplines and departments to create an ecosystem of applications tailored to multiple needs.
“These applications come together to provide a variety of solutions, enabling both operations and leadership oversight with a wealth of knowledge readily available at their fingertips.”
Nicolette also values the freedom and autonomy that the Tulip platform offers in developing solutions. “I was able to enhance applications to incorporate feedback from operators directly into the frontline applications. The ability to craft a solution that is tailored to our processes is what makes Tulip so unique.”
Passion for Providing Impact
From an initial conversation with Nicolette, her passion and enthusiasm for her work are immediately apparent. She takes great pride in making a positive impact in everything she does, while also helping those around her grow. A perfect example of this is her work with student interns, where she offers meaningful guidance and projects, allowing them to learn and grow alongside her.
Two summers ago, one of our interns developed a Tulip application for our inventory control room to improve our manual labeling process. Previously, the process required complex calculations that took about five minutes to complete. Thanks to the Tulip app my intern created, this task now takes less than 30 seconds to calculate and print the necessary labels, eliminating the need for individuals to perform complicated mental math.
Nicolette’s results-driven approach and the impact she has had at Tiffany have not gone unnoticed. She was honored with the company’s most prestigious award, the Charles Lewis Tiffany Award for Excellence. "I was incredibly grateful to be recognized for my work over the past year building an ecosystem of applications from the ground up. It’s been rewarding to see the impact it’s having on our organization."
Nicolette’s collection of accolades continues to grow, as she was also honored with the 2023 Golden Shovel Award from Tulip. This recognition highlights not only her leadership in driving digital transformation projects at Tiffany but also her proactive role in supporting the development of best practices and offering internal training and office hours for a growing team of citizen developers.
Nicolette participates in Tiffany’s “Women in Industrial” employee resource group, helping to put on a variety of events to empower and inspire women in the industry. She is also a member of the Boston Chapter of Latinas in Tech, a networking group of women in technology. “I find it important to be involved with organizations and communities that I am passionate about, both inside and outside of work.”
Creating a Future in Innovation
In addition to her engineering expertise, Nicolette is pursuing an MBA, focusing on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, coupled with Business Analytics. “Innovation is something I'm very passionate about. You can't continue to grow without innovating.”
Her concentration in business analytics has sharpened her analytical skills, particularly with databases, which have proven valuable in her work with Tulip. “One of the classes I'm taking right now is a SQL course on database management. It's funny to think back—after working with Tulip for a few years, I understood how Tulip Tables worked, but I didn't fully grasp the connection between Tulip Tables and real databases. Now I do, and I’ve been learning how to connect the dots. These classes are much easier for me because I can apply my real-world experience.”
Looking ahead, Nicolette hopes to expand her career with leadership opportunities in engineering and advanced technology.
Join us on Tulip Community to ask Nicolette a question about her career or hobbies or to just say hello!