Si Kee Tan, 35, has been in the thick of the fight against Covid-19, leading a multinational team to develop quicker testing solutions against the virus in Singapore.

It is an opportunity she relishes, one that Ms Si Kee attributes to working for a company at the cutting edge of scientific research.

The mother of two, aged six and two, is a senior manager of assay development at Thermo Fisher Scientific, one of the world's largest medical device makers.

Assay development involves the testing or measurement of drug or biochemical activity in organic samples.

Ms Si Kee's team of assay development scientists and engineers developed a saliva polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test which enables widespread, high-frequency surveillance testing of the Covid-19 virus. The test has been approved for use in research.

For over two decades, Thermo Fisher's research and development (R&D) centre in Singapore has been the central hub for Asia-Pacific operations. Recently, it has been playing a critical role in the fight against the crippling pandemic.

It has collaborated with the Ministry of Health, Temasek Holdings and the Economic Development Board in the production of personal protective equipment and PCR test kits.

Just a few years ago, Ms Si Kee would never have dreamt that she would be leading a team of 35 scientists.

After completing her PhD studies in Life Sciences at the National University of Singapore in 2012, she worked at a local molecular diagnostics company for four years.

In 2017, she joined Thermo Fisher as a senior scientist in the hope of developing molecular assay development capabilities. Her initial projects saw her developing tests for urinary tract and respiratory infections.

Just two months into the job, Ms Si Kee was tasked to manage a team of five scientists.

"To be honest, my career aspirations at the time was to stay on the technical path," she says. "I wanted to do projects and product development. But I saw it as an opportunity for me to do something different and grow myself in a different way."

Because she was new to people management, the company provided classroom training in management and leadership.

Four years on, Ms Si Kee now oversees a multinational team of scientists from countries like Singapore, Malaysia, China and Russia. They cover the three main areas of R&D, clinical development and automation.

It has been an invaluable learning experience working in a diverse company, says Ms Si Kee.

"The exposure to the different technologies and the ability to connect, collaborate and learn from the best-in-class talents is of an elevated scale in this organization," she says. It is one of the distinct benefits of working in a multinational company like Thermo Fisher.

For instance, she used to fly to the US close to two to three times a year for training and project discussions to learn from her colleagues there.

What drives her? "Not a single day is boring in a dynamic workplace like Thermo Fisher. Learning new things every day keeps me motivated."

One of the key learning moments working at the MNC was the experience of adapting to change. When various safe management measures were implemented last year, the company had to limit the number of employees in its laboratories.

This posed a challenge as it had to keep operations going to meet the high demand for Covid-19 testing, says Ms Si Kee. Communication continued to take place virtually, with the company's scientists in Singapore and the US turning to WhatsApp chats and frequent video calls to keep each other in the loop.

"I'm very proud to see my staff maturing into their roles and being ready to take on more challenges in future."

The company also promotes continuous learning. Through on-demand training modules on online platform Thermo Fisher University, Ms Si Kee has attended courses on design excellence training for experiments and on financial and business acumen.

To help staff tide through this difficult time, Thermo Fisher also supplies GrabFood vouchers and organises virtual parties for employees. "We even had a virtual durian party last year where the company delivered the fruits to our homes," she says.

Mr Ravi Shastri, Thermo Fisher Scientific's managing director for South-east Asia and Taiwan, points to Singapore's strategic location as key to the company's regional operations.

As the business epicentre of Asia, Singapore was chosen as an R&D hub because of its strong infrastructure in biomedical research and development, intellectually secure environment and pipeline of young talent from universities and research institutions, he says.

Leaps of faith, heaps of new opportunity

Fresh out of National Service in 2002, Mr Aarman Yazeed was surprised to learn that he had landed a job as a technician at Thermo Fisher Scientific despite having no experience with manufacturing.

In his first few months on the job, he was tasked with operating machines and packing consumables. While this gave him the chance to make a decent living, he began looking for new challenges; he wanted to learn new skills in the assembly process.

He approached his supervisor. "He taught me different methods to make the process more efficient, showing me that we can do something different every day, even in the same line," he says.

He also gave Mr Aarman the chance to train with colleagues from other local departments.

That was 19 years ago. Today, Mr Aarman, 43, is a manufacturing manager who oversees the planning and production output of Thermo Fisher's products, ensuring they meet the company's high-quality standards.

One of his biggest achievements is overseeing KingFisher instruments - a sample purification instrument designed to automate the extraction of DNA, proteins and an array of other cells - which have been crucial in helping Singapore in the fight against the pandemic.

"Every instrument that we make is meaningful. At the back of our minds, we know that our customers are using it for something good, not just for Covid-19 but for other illnesses like cancer.

"Even something as small as tightening a screw on a device is meaningful. That's what keeps me going," he says.

Another key component of his job is product transfer training. Each project is different, which means that Mr Aarman has to know the ins and outs of each product: How to assemble it, road test it and address any issues that might arise.

Mr Aarman feels that one of the benefits of working in an MNC is being able to synergise skills with talents from all over the world. Before the pandemic, the father of two, aged six and four, travelled to countries like the US and Finland to sharpen his technical skills and learn from experts in his field.

Collaboration is key

Singaporeans at the company are trained in leadership skills and encouraged to collaborate with employees across different generations.

As manager, Mr Aarman's trains younger technicians and imparts technical skills to ensure they are able to produce high-quality equipment.

He says: "I started from ground zero with no experience in manufacturing and went on to manage technicians, handle product transfers and transfer knowledge to newer staff."

Like Mr Aarman, finance manager Hazel Ngiam's single leap of faith has reshaped her career in unexpected ways.

Previously, the 30-year-old worked as an external auditor for professional services firms Deloitte, PwC and then at a local start-up company.

When she joined Thermo Fisher In 2017, she began to see the benefits of job rotations, overseas assignment stints and exposure.

Ms Ngiam is one of six participants in the firm's inaugural three-year Leadership Excellence and Accelerated Development programme, focused on finance skills and building leadership capabilities.

She has also had the opportunity to gain "global experience" when working with her colleagues from around the world.

For instance, under the Apac Regional Finance and Operations Finance team, she worked with colleagues from Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Taiwan, and India.

Her experience in a multinational corporation has taught her to work with colleagues from different cultures.

What's key to working in a multicultural work environment? "Respect the cultures, the important events and public holidays, and be aware of the current situation in each country," she says.

Ms Ngiam was keen to seize another opportunity to boost her international experience. This was through a one-year posting to Shanghai, but it has been put on hold because of the pandemic.

Last month, Ms Ngiam took on a new integrated finance and business role within the bioproduction group.

"Over the next five to 10 years, I see myself taking on new and exciting projects and hope to eventually move into a management position. With adequate resources and a strong commitment to the development of its employees, Thermo Fisher has helped people like me pursue my goals."

This is the fifth of an eight-part series titled "Going global, thinking local" in partnership with the Ministry of Trade and Industry.