Vanessa Ruiz
Vanessa Ruiz is a seasoned maritime professional and Maintenance Planning Manager at APM Terminals in Port Elizabeth, New Jersey. She has been working in the maritime industry for six years, beginning her career as an electrical engineer after graduating from the New Jersey Institute of Technology in May 2020. Vanessa transitioned into a managerial role focused on maintenance planning, where she collaborates closely with mechanics and the execution team. Her responsibilities span planning preventive and predictive maintenance, conducting reliability studies when equipment issues arise, and managing asset requirements, data analysis, and budget planning to ensure smooth operations.
In her current role, Vanessa serves as a vital support for her team, helping build work instructions, processes, and communication channels that enhance collaboration and efficiency. She actively engages with union labor, ensuring that operational strategies align with workforce needs while maintaining a proactive approach to equipment reliability and operational excellence. Vanessa’s work reflects a balance of technical expertise, strategic foresight, and hands-on management, enabling her to anticipate challenges and implement effective solutions across the terminal’s complex infrastructure.
Beyond her operational responsibilities, Vanessa is deeply committed to mentorship and community engagement. She serves as Recruitment Chair for the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers at NJIT and treasurer for NJIT Motorsports, fostering leadership, growth, and inclusion among students. Fluent in Spanish and a strong advocate for empathy and understanding in the workplace, Vanessa inspires collaboration by appreciating diverse perspectives and guiding teams toward shared goals. Her dedication to people, processes, and performance exemplifies the leadership and innovation that drive success in the maritime and logistics industry.
• New Jersey Institute of Technology - BS, Electrical and Computer Engineering and Technology
• Company Six Sigma Award (Lean and Transformation)
• Selected for Japan Training Program
• Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE)
• NJIT Motorsports
• NJIT Billiards
• Barbie's Blankets (breast cancer support organization)
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best piece of advice I've received is that just because you think you know something doesn't mean that reality would reflect that. You kind of have to always be humble and pretend like this is new to you, if that makes sense, to align yourself to really see the reality and what makes sense for them. It's about staying open-minded and not assuming you have all the answers, even when you feel confident about something.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I think it's very important to communicate, and I know a lot of people say to communicate, but I think communicate is a very broad term, and I think a lot of people think they know it, but the reality is they don't. By communicating, I mean you have to know them on a personal level to a degree, and then also bring in the professional. That's super important, because from there, you learn more. In this industry, there's people that have been doing this for 20, 30 years, and sometimes they have a lot of background, so you have to get to know them, and that way you can also communicate with them about what you're thinking. Because maybe they've already tried it, right? But what did they learn from it? Why did it go wrong? So you have to kind of figure new processes out, including them.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
This industry is super niche and there's not that many women in it. I would like to reach out to women and bring more awareness to them about opportunities in this field. It's a male-dominant industry, and I want to help change that by making it more visible and accessible to women who might not know about these career paths.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I would say empathy is very strong and important to me. You have to have an understanding of where people are coming from and why they're doing things a certain way. You have to hear them out and understand everybody's perspective and what makes sense, because everybody has their own goals and they are trying to meet them. I have to understand it and provide visibility for everybody, and try to meet them somewhere, compromise with them. It's about being a team player and ensuring the value that you bring to the table while respecting others' perspectives and goals.
Locations
APM Terminals
Union, NJ 07083