From growing up in Detroit to promoting autonomous vehicle safety, today, Mary Joyce has always been at the forefront of automotive and mobility. Joyce is Vice President and General Manager; Critical Systems & Mobility at UL, a global safety science company.
Joyce is one of the mobility leaders Auto Futures is profiling for International Women’s Day.
From Embedded Systems to Entrepreneur
Joyce comes from an automotive family and her husband worked in automotive.
“I was born and raised in Detroit. I started my career at Chrysler. My husband started his career at Ford. My father worked for Ford. My father was a financial analyst for Ford,” says Joyce.
Joyce started with an undergraduate degree in computer engineering and a graduate degree in electrical engineering. First, working at Chrysler, she wrote code for embedded system developments for traditional engines which previously were mechanically controlled.
Shortly after the Daimler Chrysler merger, Joyce decided to start her own software company when she had her fourth child and wanted more flexibility. “I think of my career as a natural progression. I liked being an entrepreneur. I like the people aspect of my career. I always look forward to helping new engineers come up to speed and helping them navigate their careers. It is a part of my job at UL. I have always loved paying it forward.”
Joyce subsequently returned to FCA – Fiat Chrysler Automobiles where she worked with process tools and methods for the Chrysler Pacifica hybrid.
“It was Chrysler’s first launch of a production hybrid. It was exciting to be on the team. I was responsible for all the vehicle’s electronics. It included regenerative braking, body controls, telematics units and fifty different computer modules. I learned a lot about automotive in that position. It was not a focused position. It was broad like how you take it from concept to production,” she says.
Shortly after the Pacifica was launched, Joyce moved into the financial area of Chrysler -such as being responsible for bringing new programs to the board.
Mastering International Business
“I was in product development planning. Then I got involved in the manufacturing end of things costing of manufacturing, retooling costing, costing of R&D, and marketing. That was exciting. I got to meet people throughout the company and so many different disciplines,” says Joyce.
She liked working at Chrysler but she wanted a broader global experience. Then she took a global position at SGS, which is a testing inspection, certification company based out of Geneva, Switzerland. She was responsible for dynamics and electronics globally.
“That was a fantastic job. I was responsible for labs in Europe, United States, China, Japan, South Korea and India,” explains Joyce who then moved back to America- based responsibilities.
“That was a direct P&L responsibility and I enjoyed that. Then I was recruited by UL.”
A Mission for Safety with Inclusion
Joyce is now using all her skills from her career at UL.
“UL’s mission is working for a safer world. Focusing that mission on newer technology and mobility is a dream come true. We all want technology to move forward. We all want to have AV cars and electric cars that are going to help our environment in the long run. We all want that. But we need safety and security in vehicles. The meaningful part of my work is that I am helping companies achieve a better life for a lot of people, but at the same time ensuring that it is done safely.”
“UL has an excellent diversity and inclusion focus. Jenny Scanlon, our CEO, is science-based, doing a fantastic job leading UL. At UL, there is an absolute focus on diversity inclusion. At UL, not only do you get an excellent inclusion culture, but you also get to work for a strong and meaningful mission. Everybody at UL feels that mission that we are working toward,” she adds.
UL created the safety standard, UL 4600 for autonomous vehicles.
“UL 4600, the standard for autonomous vehicles. It is about a safety culture within the company – building a safety case throughout development – to ensure that from cradle to grave safety and security, is utmost on the minds of the development team. This is an important concept because as AV systems get more and more complicated, Even with the millions, billions of miles that some cars are driving, you can not test every single scenario. Your development process has to be based on strong safety culture and strong discipline processes,” says Joyce.
She describes UL 4600 as a combination of the correct mix of test cases, a strong safety and security culture, and a strong disciplined process throughout development with checks and checks and balances.
But one other thing that is not normally addressed in the safety of AVs is a strong definition of the operational domain.
“At autonomy at level four when we define those domains properly, and have all of those other pieces that I talked about, simulation, on top of the loop simulation, hardware in the loop simulation, vehicle in the loop simulation, the combination of all this together, it will get us a lot closer to proving that what we are doing is safe.”
UL is getting many inquiries on help with the standard. She says it is a good sign that they want help to make sure that they launch safe products.
Joyce advises women looking at getting into a technology career and AVs. “It is an extremely meaningful career. It is meaningful because you’re making people’s lives better, making the environment better. And ensuring that there’s a safe deployment of these vehicles. I can tell young people that there’s never a dull moment. I’ve always loved being in the automotive industry. But this is the time that I’ve loved the most because the transformation is accelerating. And in this particular industry, you can be at the forefront.”
Mary Joyce will be giving a keynote address, ‘Intertwined Safety and Security Compliance Frameworks for AVs’ at IEEE ICCVE International Conference on Connected Vehicles, 9 March.
Keyword: Accelerating Automotive Transformation With a Mission for Safety – Mary Joyce VP & GM, UL