Real people, real stories

Dr. Hongrui Ma

• Joined Saudi Aramco in 2018 as a Senior Scientist within the Transport Technologies R&D Division

• Originally from Mainland China while his wife and kids were born in Hong Kong

• Currently resides in Saudi Aramco's residential camp in Dhahran

Working at Saudi Aramco

What do you do as a Senior Scientist?
As a strategic domain, our division’s mission is to help the company demonstrate commercial viability of competitive internal combustion engine platforms and low climate impact fuels, which will address the environmental and business sustainability of transport fuels for road, marine and aviation applications. Specifically, my role focuses on industry intelligence, technology assessment and policy analysis.

What is your team like?
Our team is relatively small but highly engaged in our respective fields of work. Due to the strategic nature of our mission and complex industry dynamics, everyone gets exposed to new research topics and challenges all the time – no repetitive or routine tasks whatsoever! It’s also a well-balanced mix of experienced professionals and young talent, with diverse cultural background too. In short, it is a very friendly and stimulating environment.

What do you enjoy most about working in Aramco?
The most enjoyable aspect of my work is the freedom to explore an entirely new field of research, and the steep learning curve that comes with it. As soon as I joined the team, I was tasked to lead a comprehensive study with industry partners, against tight timelines, in an area far apart from my work experience in the past 6 to 7 years. However, this type of initiative and the associated learning benefits always motivate me! I ended up re-discovering the academic literature and some of the deep analytical skills I acquired much earlier on in my career! In the end, it was a great outcome for the collaboration and learning opportunity for me.

What are your professional aspirations and how does working at Aramco help you achieve them?
Despite the vastly different activities I’ve undertaken throughout my PhD days and 14 years of professional experience, my No. 1 career goal has always been to solve intellectually challenging problems to add value to the enterprise I serve. Aramco is one of the largest and most complex enterprises on this planet, and certainly presents itself as well as its employees plenty of challenges on a global scale. I believe that by helping the company address certain aspects of these challenges, I will be able to make solid progress in my own professional development as well.

What was an important consideration for you to move to Saudi Arabia?
For me, family is more important than anything else in life – a fulfilling career can, and should, provide the foundation for strong family bonds, in addition to professional achievements. With two young kids, my wife and I have long established that we wish to be a positive influence for them on their life’s journey, every step of the way. Aramco offers us great work-life balance and an amazing international community in which our kids can grow up happily.

What other insights can you share with those keen to join Aramco?
Be very honest and clear with yourself about the top priorities in life, and plan accordingly; once you move, focus on what you can influence at work, at home and in your society at large, because there is no point in constantly looking back at ‘what could have been’.

Living in Saudi Arabia

How have you and your family settled in the Kingdom? 
The settle-down was surprisingly smooth, despite the fact that Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia are like from two parallel universes in many ways! I guess if I had to name a challenge for us in the first few months, it would be getting used to the different traffic conditions and driving patterns of others on the road.

How is life in the community? 
Life in the Aramco community around us is quite simple, but it suits us. Living in a sparsely populated and yet cozy street, instead of sky-scrapper apartment towers, is a totally new experience for our kids. You get to know your neighbors and make friends with people from lots of different places. The schools inside the community are an absolute delight for us, which happened to be our biggest concern before coming here.

What are the community activities and initiatives you’ve participated in?
One of the community initiatives we enjoyed very much was the “Walk of Nations” hosted by the Dhahran Hills School, where you could experience a mini United Nations cultural fair! Another highlight of community life is that the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (a.k.a. Ithra) is just a stone’s throw away! It’s such a world-class venue for hosting fascinating events from all around the globe.

What do you and your family enjoy doing? 
Although we are no strangers to beaches, we’ve grown to love the Saudi beaches too! You might be surprised to hear this because, after all, we live in the middle of a desert! The Aramco private beaches at Half Moon Bay and Ras Tanura are actually very accessible. We will definitely visit the pristine Red Sea on the west coast as soon as we can, and of course, all of the world heritage sites in the Kingdom!

What insights can you share with those considering relocation to Saudi Arabia?
One of the things I keep hearing from colleagues and friends who have been living in Saudi Arabia for long is that, the country and communities have witnessed a tremendous transformation over the past decade – if anything, this transformation is still well underway and perhaps even accelerating. With a young, well-educated and digitally-savvy population, the future of the Kingdom holds great promises. All I can say to prospective and new recruits is embrace change, embrace Saudi Arabia!

Overall, how do you and your family feel about life in Saudi Arabia?
We genuinely feel that we’ve made the right choice. We hope our time here will become an unforgettable chapter of our lives, full of memories and adventures.