FEATURED EMPLOYEE
Learning Beyond Limits: How Curiosity Drives Altan Ayur’s Career
Role |
Project Manager / System Engineer |
Division: |
SI Solutions Div, Trading Firm Dept. (V3) |
Location: |
New York |
Expertise: |
IT project management, software and infrastructure development, and cloud services. |
Experience: |
1 year and 6 months at SYSCOM |
Hobbies: |
Traveling, hot yoga, and spending time with family (my husband & 2.5 years old son) |
This month’s spotlight features Altan Ayur, a New York-based Project Manager and System Engineer in SYSCOM’s Infrastructure Group whose career path—from software development in Japan to cross-functional leadership in the U.S.—shows how curiosity has driven her career growth at SYSCOM.
When Altan Ayur talks about her career, she doesn’t start with titles or technology.
She starts with movement—living abroad at 16 and learning a new language, then crossing an ocean to challenge herself again.
“When I moved to Japan at 16, I couldn’t speak Japanese at all,” she says. Her spirit of adventure only grew with each move, and that growth—no matter how uncomfortable or unfamiliar her situation—has shaped every major decision in her life. “After you overcome something like that, you feel confident you can face anything.”
Altan’s willingness to step into discomfort shows up in her bold career transitions. She began her career as an Application Engineer, writing Java and PHP for large-scale e-commerce systems.
“I used to develop coupon and shopping applications,” she says. “That experience gave me a strong technical base and taught me how much detail matters in building reliable systems.”
After a decade in Japan, she set a new challenge for herself—moving to the United States to strengthen her English and expand her technical and management skills. “I moved to the U.S. to study English and challenge myself again,” she says. “When I visited my aunt in Colorado and saw the space and the mountains… it blew my mind.”
“I wanted to step outside my comfort zone,” she says. “Learning a new language, studying business, and working in different industries helped me see technology from many perspectives.”
At SYSCOM, her instinct to jump into challenging environments shows up in the work too.
Whether she’s managing a system upgrade or coordinating teams across regions, she approaches each project with the same mindset that carried her across three countries: learn fast, stay adaptable, and keep moving.
“Since joining SYSCOM, I’ve realized how much clear communication and documentation impact even the most technical projects,” she says. “Clarity and alignment prevent costly errors and keep teams moving in the same direction.”
Altan manages large-scale IT initiatives that range from system upgrades to cloud migrations, projects that depend on collaboration between technical and business teams.
“Knowing both infrastructure and business applications helps me see the big picture of how technology supports business goals,” she says. “It lets me create solutions that work well technically and fit clients’ needs.”
Her leadership style centers on simplicity. “Keeping things simple makes instructions easy to follow,” she says. “Being friendly ensures smooth client interactions, and focusing on effective solutions saves time and builds trust.”
That approach reflects SYSCOM’s values of Simple, Friendly, Innovative—and how those values play out in real client work every day.
Every challenge is a chance to learn something new.
Altan Ayur
Project Manager / System Engineer
Her story spans three countries, three languages, and multiple reinventions, with each move grounded in curiosity rather than necessity. Having lived and worked in Mongolia, Japan, and the United States, Altan brings a genuinely global perspective to every project she leads.
“Working with people from many backgrounds has taught me that collaboration starts with listening,” she says. “Small conversations and shared interests build trust, and trust makes technical work smoother.”
Her international experience helps her bridge differences in communication style and decision-making across teams and regions. “Each culture has its own way of approaching work,” she says. “Understanding those differences helps us move faster and avoid misunderstandings.”
Altan credits SYSCOM’s culture of trust and mentorship for her continued growth.
“I’ve been given leadership opportunities that strengthened my confidence,” she says. “Instead of micromanagement, there’s freedom to plan, to listen to engineers’ opinions, and to implement new ideas. That ownership makes me want to do even better. Here, I’m trusted to plan, to listen to engineers’ ideas, and to make decisions that move the project forward”
That empowerment extends beyond technology. As a working mother, she’s found balance through the support of both her family and her team.
“Having that flexibility and understanding means a lot,” she says. “It helps me give my best at work and at home.”
Throughout her journey, she’s never stopped learning. Every relocation, every new discipline, every shift in her career came from the same desire to grow.
Curiosity still drives what’s next for Altan. She’s especially excited about how automation and AI can reshape project management.
“AI-driven tools can shift routine work to machines and free people to focus on higher-value decisions,” she says. “We need to understand these technologies so we can recommend and implement them effectively for our clients.”
She’s also eager to keep expanding her expertise across disciplines.
“I hope to lead large-scale transformation projects that integrate AI, automation, and enterprise software,” she says. “Every challenge is a chance to learn something new—and that’s what keeps me motivated.”
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