Samantha Trinh

International Women in Engineering Day celebrates the remarkable contributions of women engineers and engineering leaders worldwide who are advancing technology, strengthening critical infrastructure, and helping solve some of society’s most complex challenges. Among those being recognized, IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES) is excited to spotlight Samantha Trinh, IEEE PES Senior Member, IEEE PES Substations Committee Marketing & Recruitment Chair, and Chief Operating Officer of RCM Technologies, Inc.

Throughout her career, Samantha has worked with engineers across telecommunications, digital infrastructure, technology, and energy, gaining perspective from professionals representing a wide range of disciplines and technical specialties. While her own career path has been rooted in strategy, innovation, and business leadership, it is the engineers she has worked with who have most influenced her perspective.

Samantha expressed that, “Engineering is fundamentally about creating certainty in an increasingly complex world. The ability to analyze challenges objectively, solve problems systematically, and build solutions that scale is what enables industries, economies, and communities to thrive.”

Samantha’s introduction to large-scale infrastructure came early in her career at Verizon, where she led teams in the rollout of Verizon FiOS across the nation’s earliest fiber markets. There, she gained firsthand experience with the complexities of building and deploying critical communications infrastructure. She shared, “The experience gave me an appreciation for the scale of planning, engineering, and execution required to build infrastructure that millions of people depend upon.”

Today, as Chief Operating Officer of RCM Technologies, Samantha finds herself at another pivotal moment in infrastructure development. The power industry is entering one of the most consequential periods in its history.

The rapid growth of artificial intelligence, hyperscale data centers, electrification, and an increasingly digital economy is driving significant demand for reliable electricity and accelerating investment across the power grid and broader energy infrastructure.

Samantha works alongside engineering teams at RCM Energy Services, supporting utilities, OEMs, and data center developers as they plan, design, and deliver increasingly complex projects. Through capabilities spanning transmission and distribution engineering, protection and controls, turnkey EPC delivery, battery energy storage systems, digital substations, and advanced digital engineering tools, including industry-leading BIM-enabled design, RCM partners with clients to overcome the most pressing infrastructure challenges facing the industry today.

She believes that engineering services organizations will play a critical role in navigating this unprecedented growth through technical expertise and innovation in project delivery; the most important asset in the industry remains its people.

Through her leadership role within IEEE PES, Samantha immediately recognized something familiar: a community defined by engineering excellence, intellectual curiosity, and a shared commitment to solving difficult problems.

PES plays an important role in supporting professional development and technical leadership, and in meeting growing demand while maintaining the highest standards of reliability, resilience, and performance that modern society depends on.

Samantha shared, “The challenges facing our industry over the next several decades will require not only technological advancement, but also the combined expertise of generations of engineers committed to building our power delivery systems.”

Looking ahead, Samantha hopes to continue helping to bridge engineering, innovation, and strategic execution while developing future engineering leaders. This commitment to learning, mentorship, and professional growth remains central to her involvement in IEEE PES.