Oceaneering Women in Technology Series: Mimi Batrony
Oceaneering is devoted to creating a talented, diverse, and inclusive workforce. We are introducing a new series highlighting the women contributing to our technological advances. In this series, we discover what makes their jobs rewarding and what advice they have for the next generation.
View more profiles in this series.
Mimi Batrony is the Product Engineering Manager for Oceaneering’s Energy Products division based in Panama City, Florida. In her position, Mimi finds it rewarding to see a project through from beginning to end.
“When I have invested years in a project from its infancy stages and then I get to stand on the dock and watch it leave our facility, in that moment I feel a true sense of accomplishment.”
She also finds it rewarding to be able to contribute to the overall business success of the company.
“I helped develop a sustainable SURF (subsea umbilicals, risers, and flowlines) analysis team at [the company’s] Offshore Design Center to support the day-to-day analysis needs for engineering groups across all divisions for the company. In addition, I was able to help build the Oceaneering SURF Analyst group from just a few people to over 25 now and still growing.”
Mimi was drawn to science at a very early age and she credits her father for encouraging her to pursue and explore the subject further. One of her favorite shows to watch with her father was “The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau.” This would be one of many influences that would lead her to a career in Ocean Engineering, she said.
“My attraction to engineering stemmed from my father’s love of the sciences. Growing up, I would always find myself drawn to things he would be working on,” she said. “We would fix cars, trucks, boats, pretty much anything with an engine.
“As a female who grew up in Haiti, traditionally it was expected for me take up household chores and family duties, but I had no interest in those things. My father took notice and worked with me, he pushed me, and encouraged me.”
On choosing to become an Ocean Engineer, Mimi said, “I knew it was the career path I wanted to pursue since the age of 16, and knowing that I had my father’s full support gave me the confidence to break through the social norms expected in my culture for young girls.”
Mimi said that in choosing her own path she not only challenged norms herself, but for her daughter.
“I have been able to set an example for my daughter that anything you are passionate about and willing to work hard for is achievable.”
One of the hardest things to overcome as a woman in a male-dominated engineering field was finding her confidence.
“There have been many times throughout my career, even back as far as my engineering studies, where I felt I had to work twice as hard to prove myself and be taken seriously; however, this has made me into who I am,” Mimi said.
“The key to overcoming this challenge for me has been through experiences and persistence,” she said. “It helped me build my confidence to speak up more and be assertive when necessary. I have also learned that it’s important to speak up when you have a valid opinion on a topic, as standing out sometimes is better than blending into the background.”
Often another challenge that women must deal with in their careers is balancing family and work. Mimi said that in her role as a mother and an engineer, Oceaneering has been supportive.
“As a mother of three, I have been able to maintain my professional career and growth at Oceaneering and never felt like I was being held back,” she said. “Oceaneering has done a great job of providing both myself and other mothers with reasonable accommodations to return to work.”
For the next generation of girls and women considering STEM, Mimi has this advice:
“Be persistent, seize opportunities that will allow you to grow, and remember that the harder you work for something the more rewarding it is once you achieve it.”
She added that it is most important early on in your career to seek out mentors who either have the skills you wish to gain or who hold a role you see yourself holding in the future. She noted that in her 14 years with Oceaneering, she had several mentors who she credits with helping to guide her through the positions she has held within the company.
“Having mentors is critical to your career growth,” she said. “They can guide you through challenges and critical decisions, as they themselves have probably already faced them.”
On why women should consider the engineering field, she said:
“Engineering is one of the few fields of study that is versatile and where you can bring your vision to life. You get to create, design, build, test and implement that vision into our world and ultimately drive change.”
Interested in a new career path? Visit our Careers page to search our available job opportunities.
Articles To solve the unsolvable, Oceaneering seeks out the utmost experts in their respective fields. We provide engineered services and products primarily to the offshore energy industry. Today, we also use applied technology expertise to serve the defense, entertainment, material handling, aerospace, science, and renewable energy industries. With a varied and diverse pool of expertise, Oceaneering strives to be the go-to thoughtleader in our wide-ranging on- and offshore service lines. We thrive by creating industry-changing technically creative solutions for the most complex operational challenges under water, on land, and in space. Our experts are sought out for their knowledge and experience, to shed light on the latest innovative technology and trends within the wide-ranging industries we serve. Our experts are able to speak to these subjects because they are out in the field, working shoulder-to-shoulder with our clients and associated contractors. They work closely to devise solutions to problems that couldn’t be solved otherwise. We demonstrate our value every day, striving to complete projects on-time and on-budget. Our experts have penned thousands of words on topics related to remotely operated vehicles, subsea hardware, asset integrity, flow assurance, diving, survey and mapping, vessels, well intervention, workover control systems, pipeline repair, inspection, non-destructive testing, decommissioning, renewables, umbilicals, valves, marine services, product testing and qualification, data management, vessel navigation and positioning systems, science and other research, and space systems. Our articles section shines a spotlight on our best and brightest thoughtleaders offering history, data, case studies, and even opinions on industry trends and service techniques, so that we may open a dialogue with the rest of the industry, in order to see how we can all better ourselves and come up with the latest solutions and processes yet to be created. We partner with industry publications and other newsmakers to help tell our story and those of our clients because we aim to not only solve the unsolvable but demonstrate our value and expertise as a company, every single day. We do this work with much importance placed on safety, because safety is instilled in every worker, in every region in which we do business.
Company page Since our founding in the early 1960s, Oceaneering has expanded and grown globally to service several industries such as the offshore energy industry, defense, entertainment, material handling, aerospace, science, and renewable energy industries. In 1964, Mike Hughes and Johnny Johnson formed a Gulf of Mexico diving company called World Wide Divers. The company grew in response to increasing demand for their services and in 1969 merged with two other diving companies to form Oceaneering International, Inc. To solve the toughest challenges, we do things differently, creatively, and smarter. As your trusted partner, our unmatched experience and truly innovative portfolio of technologies and solutions give us the flexibility to adapt and evolve, regardless of market conditions. Our mission is to solve the unsolvable. We thrive by creating industry-changing technically creative solutions for the most complex operational challenges under water, on land, and in space. Our five core values establish a common culture and demonstrate what is most important for us as a company. Since the beginning, the company has transformed from a small regional diving company into a global provider of engineered products and services. Today, we develop products and services for use throughout the lifecycle of an offshore oilfield, from drilling to decommissioning. We operate the world's premier fleet of work class ROVs. Additionally, we are a leader in offshore oilfield maintenance services, umbilicals, subsea hardware, and tooling. We also serve the aerospace, defense, and theme park industries. Underpinning everything we do, safety is not only the foundation of our core values, but it is vital to our unmatched performance record and company culture. The industries we serve are as diverse as they are complex. Whether we are engineering deepwater umbilicals or developing robotics for aerospace applications, the safety and health of our employees, vendors, and customers is an integral part of our day-to-day business. If we are working, then our responsibility is to be working safely. Since our inception in 1964, we have placed a high value on employee safety—from diving services and subsea inspection to vessel-based installation operations. We have and will continue to evolve not only our health, safety, and environmental (HSE) processes, but those of the industries in which we work. Although we have been fatality-free since 1999, our HSE journey goes beyond statistics. As our portfolio of services has grown, we have continued to prioritize and advance our approach to HSE.
Trade Shows Oceaneering is a global company, spanning several industries such as the offshore energy industry, defense, entertainment, material handling, aerospace, science, and renewable energy industries. Because our work is global, we strive to showcase our talent, expertise, technology and services worldwide at several important and high-profile trade shows per year. At Offshore Technology Conference in Houston, as well as European-centric trade shows like Offshore Northern Seas (ONS) and Offshore Europe, Oceaneering displayed a touch screen that allows users to bring our technologies and services to life with in-depth facts and figures, and informative videos. Another highlight of our conference stand is the live, mobile mission control center, which provides a look at our collaborative and operational onshore base, supporting all kinds of operations both on- and offshore, topside and subsea. The MSC allows you to optimize resources, hence reducing cost, lowering HSE risk, and lowering emissions to the environment. Trade Shows allow Oceaneering the ability to meet with the public and potential clients to give them more in-depth knowledge about our specialized tools and services. By meeting with Oceaneering’s subject matter experts about our offerings, clients and potential clients can get an open window into the types of services Oceaneering can provide. Oceaneering’s expertise covers the spectrum from remotely operated vehicles, subsea hardware, asset integrity, flow assurance, diving, survey and mapping, vessels, well intervention, workover control systems, pipeline repair, inspection, non-destructive testing, decommissioning, entertainment systems, renewables, umbilicals, valves, marine services, product testing and qualification, data management, vessel navigation and positioning systems, science and other research, and even space systems. Our experts are sought out for their knowledge and experience, to shed light on the latest innovative technology and trends within the wide-ranging industries we serve. They work closely to devise solutions to problems that couldn’t be solved otherwise. We demonstrate our value every day, striving to complete projects on-time and on-budget. Trade shows, including smaller, local meet-and-greets, help tell our story and showcase the expertise and innovation behind our tools, technology, and services. We aim to not only solve the unsolvable but demonstrate our value and expertise as a company, every single day, on every single job, all across the world. We hope to serve you soon.
Brochures Our brochures section allows users to read more in-depth about our specialized tools and services that span several industries, such as the offshore energy industry, defense, entertainment, material handling, aerospace, science, and renewable energy industries. By reading more about our offerings, clients and potential clients can get an open window into the types of services Oceaneering can provide. Oceaneering’s expertise covers the spectrum from remotely operated vehicles, subsea hardware, asset integrity, flow assurance, diving, survey and mapping, vessels, well intervention, workover control systems, pipeline repair, inspection, non-destructive testing, decommissioning, entertainment systems, renewables, umbilicals, valves, marine services, product testing and qualification, data management, vessel navigation and positioning systems, science and other research, and even space systems. Our Brochure section features a searchable web database, where users don’t have to simply scroll to find the items for which they are searching. Simply enter your search terms, and select either “exact” or “search title” to help get you closer to relevant technology and services from Oceaneering that can help you solve your needs. Users can also filter their searches by category. Oceaneering offers 40 categories and sub categories to help users find what they need even faster. With a database of nearly 200 brochures, we aim to make the search process as easy as possible so we can get in touch faster to provide you with top-notch service and world-class expertise. Our experts are sought out for their knowledge and experience, to shed light on the latest innovative technology and trends within the wide-ranging industries we serve. They work closely to devise solutions to problems that couldn’t be solved otherwise. We demonstrate our value every day, striving to complete projects on-time and on-budget. Our brochures help to tell our story and showcase the expertise and innovation behind our tools, technology, and services. We aim to not only solve the unsolvable but demonstrate our value and expertise as a company, every single day, on every single job. We do this work with much importance placed on safety, because safety is instilled in every worker, in every region in which we do business. We hope to serve you soon.