Rising Technical Contributor Award

Priya Agarwal is a senior design engineer for John Deere India, where her work centers on design and analysis of chassis and structural components for skid steel and compact tracked loaders. She now holds ownership of multiple subsystems and components.

Since joining John Deere, Agarwal has gained new skills and applied her knowledge to each successive task. For instance, she played a pivotal role in designing the main frame for John Deere’s Mid Frame Mower Build. She gathered all challenges on the current production machine, implemented cost-reduction ideas, and provided mountings, space claims, and retentions to cross-functional teams. She coordinated and implemented design changes with the Finite Element Analysis Team. After completing the design and detailing, she remotely assisted in the in-house manufacturing of the main frame and addressed all issues. Under intense pressure to deliver industry-leading quality in the shortest possible time, she leveraged the Dimensional Management team’s support for model integration, resulting in fewer post-build modifications. She has also remotely coordinated product builds in the United States and Canada, always ensuring that all timelines are met.

Agarwal is gifted at finding cost reductions that greatly contribute to John Deere’s bottom line. For one product, she gathered nearly 100 cost reduction ideas and implemented nearly 20, yielding substantial overall savings. She shared her ideas with other production teams, helping them reduce costs while improving structural integrity. Her work on multiple parts has been critical for cost reduction and avoidance. She has also documented all her learnings, contributions, and achievements so her colleagues can learn from her findings. For her contributions, Agarwal is a five-time recipient of the company’s WOW award, given to employees for walking an extra mile to help achieve business goals.

An active member of the Society of Women Engineers since 2020, Agarwal leads communications for SWE John Deere India. In this role, she has been an important contributor to many events, such as the WE Local Bengaluru conference, college and school outreach programs, development sessions, and the SWE Global and Local awards.

Agarwal stands out not just for her talent and drive, but because she is one of very few women in her field of expertise in such a visible and critical role. As such, she is deeply committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and transforming the workplace through SWE Lakshya and the John Deere Lakshya employee resource groups. She received John Deere’s Ally Award and DEI Trailblazer Award for her active participation and DEI contributions. She also informally mentors new employees, helping them transition from college to professional life.

Agarwal is the first engineer in her family. She earned a B.Tech in mechanical engineering at the Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology in Prayagraj, India. She was a gold medalist at the institute, signifying meritorious academic accomplishments. In her free time, she enjoys dancing, running, and traveling.