Her Story
About Alexa
Alexa Sanchez serves as Senior Technical Architect at Amazon Leo, a role she has held since January after transitioning from the business side of the organization where she had worked for the prior 18 months. With nearly 15 years at Amazon beginning in customer service operations in her native Costa Rica, she progressed into multiple leadership positions before relocating to the Seattle area in 2022. In her current position she oversees two primary work streams: designing and facilitating leadership development workshops on topics such as emotional intelligence, interviewing skills, and women in leadership programs, and developing technical training curricula for technicians and engineers involved in satellite manufacturing and production operations across sites in Washington and Florida. Alexa holds a bachelor's degree in administration, an MBA earned from a university in Spain during the pandemic, and a concurrent master's degree in project management. She is a Yellow Belt in Lean Six Sigma, a certified facilitator for Amazon leadership programs, and a NeuroColor Certified Facilitator. She attributes her success to sustained effort, resilience through international relocation and role changes, and the support of her husband and family, while advising others to overcome fear, remain authentic, and prioritize work-life harmony.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Alexa
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to effort, resilience, and my support system of my husband and family. Coming from Costa Rica, I put in great effort to get my degrees including my MBA during the pandemic, overcame imposter syndrome as a Latina woman in leadership, and maintained resilience through relocations and role changes.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I received is to not let fear get the best of you. Whether preparing for a big presentation or relocating from another country, overcome fears and take opportunities even if not 100% ready, as women often wait until they are fully prepared unlike men who apply at 70-80%.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Do not have to be like a man to be successful; bring your own traits as a woman in leadership, be empowered and confident. Stay true to who you are and your values like family and self-care to avoid burnout from trying to prove yourself by working excessive hours.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge is the constantly and rapidly changing telecommunications and satellite industry, requiring constant adjustment of roadmaps and plans. We must build adversity quotient to communicate changes and keep the organization aligned, especially with AI advancements making things outdated quickly.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Family is most important, maintaining work-life harmony rather than balance, putting family first as Jeff Bezos talks about. Kindness is key - be honest and transparent while kind to build better networks, rather than just being bold.
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