Member Spotlight: Lingyan Jiang

Lingyan Jiang, Technical Program Manager, Arcadyan 

What do you love most about your job?

What I love most about my job is how much it has expanded the way I see both projects and people. I started primarily as a Technical Program Manager, focused on executing projects well. Over time, taking on responsibilities in account management and business development has given me a much broader perspective. I now think not only about schedules and deliverables, but also about customer priorities, business decisions, and how different teams and relationships come together to move a project forward.

I also value how much the role has strengthened my communication skills. I work with teams across Asia, US, and UK, and with people in engineering, product, project, sales, marketing, and leadership. Each group approaches challenges differently, I’ve learned how to listen, translate between perspectives, and help people reach alignment. That combination of technical work, relationship-building, and continuous personal growth is what makes the job especially rewarding to me.

Who is one woman who influenced your career journey?

I’ve been fortunate to have women shape my career at every stage, from leaders, mentors, coworkers, interns, and mentees. Early in my career in Boston, I worked with an amazing female leader who showed me how to collaborate across technical and cross-functional teams with confidence, empathy, and professionalism. She created the foundation for how I approach my own work today.

Later, I found an incredible mentor through WICT who taught me how to network, navigate relationships with leadership and coworkers, and understand when to find balance, compromise, or stand firm.

Now, as a mentor myself, I continue learning from the mentees and students I support. Mentoring has taught me how to listen more carefully, guide without taking over, and grow alongside the people I’m trying to help. Each of these women has shaped a different part of who I am today.

Outside of work, what’s something you are passionate about?

I’m passionate about traveling and exploring new places and cultures. I love pinning and saving every place I visit on Google Map, and I collect refrigerator magnets and keychains from different cities as small reminders of those experiences. When I travel, I especially enjoy exploring local cafés, markets, and hidden attractions and getting a feel for how people actually live there. It’s my way of preserving memories, staying curious, and finding inspiration for where to explore next. Traveling also helps me slow down, recharge, and step away from the pace of everyday life.

What do you value most about your membership with The WICT Network?

WICT has a very positive impact on my career because it gave me something I had not found in other professional communities, a network of women working in the same industry. I had participated in other women’s organizations before, and while I valued the sense of sisterhood, people often came from very different industries and backgrounds. Sometimes that made it difficult to have deeper conversations about the challenges we faced at work. Through WICT, the conversations, experiences, and advice feel much more connected to the work I do every day in telecom.

One of the most meaningful experiences for me was participating in the WICT Rising Leaders Program earlier this year. The program gave me practical ways to become a better leader. It helped me build confidence and self awareness, while also teaching me how to motivate, support, and bring out the best in the people around me. I have also learned a lot from meeting women in different stages of their careers. Their experiences, insights, and confidence continue to inspire me.