Dubai Telegraph - Dubai-Raised Engineer Sabra Sadeghi Earns Middle East 'Rising Star' Recognition for Major US Manufacturing Projects

DUBAI, AE / ACCESS Newswire / March 19, 2026 / Sabra Sadeghi, a Dubai-raised project engineer working on some of the United States' most significant automotive manufacturing developments, has received international recognition as a Highly Commended honoree in the "Rising Star of the Year" category at the Construction Week Awards: Middle East. The award recognizes emerging talent helping shape the future of construction across the region. Sadeghi was raised and educated in Dubai, attended The Westminster School of Dubai and the American University of Sharjah, and built the early foundations of a career that is now gaining attention on both sides of the Atlantic.

Her recognition comes as she continues to take on leading responsibilities in advanced manufacturing construction in the US. Sadeghi currently serves as a Project Engineer with Barton Malow on the LG Energy Solutions battery plant in Lansing, Michigan, a 2.8 million-square-foot facility central to the next generation of automotive production. In that role, she has led a multimillion procurement strategy, been appointed Lead Engineer for Formation Area 5, and overseeing critical coordination across civil, mechanical and electrical scopes in one of the plant's most important production zones.

The significance of her contributions has only grown following confirmation that Tesla is expanding its ties with South Korea's LG Energy Solution through a $4.3 billion agreement to purchase battery cells produced at the Lansing site for use in its energy‑storage systems. Details of the Tesla-LG partnership were announced at the Indo‑Pacific Energy Security Summit in Japan, where the U.S. Department of the Interior highlighted the deal as part of $56 billion in private‑sector commitments unveiled at the event. This development positions the Lansing facility as a key node in Tesla's U.S. energy‑storage supply chain and elevates the national importance of the work underway.

Before joining the LG project, Sadeghi played a key role in the Duramax Engine Plant expansion for General Motors in Brookville, Ohio, an industrial project tied to a $920 million investment in US manufacturing. On that program, she was entrusted with leadership responsibilities across public and operational spaces within an over 1.4 million-square-foot facility, serving as the Architectural and Civil lead.

Sadeghi's trajectory stands out not only for the scale of the projects involved, but also for what it represents. At a moment when the Gulf and the Middle East are too often viewed through the lens of geopolitical strain, her success offers a different story - one of technical excellence, ambition and international contribution. Her rise from Dubai classrooms to leadership roles on landmark US manufacturing projects reflects positively on the region and underscores the growing global influence of Gulf-trained talent in engineering, construction and industrial development.

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SOURCE: Sabra Sadeghi

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I.El-Hammady--DT