We deal with human and technical interfaces – both are very complex:
When it comes to human interfaces, contact with product management is particularly important at the beginning of a project. With its ideas and wishes, product management gives us the first «requirements» for a product and acts as a representative for our customers. Then, of course, there are the interfaces to all team members – within the firmware team as well as within the project teams (the employees of the firmware team work on various product projects in separate project teams). In the project teams, we mainly work with colleagues from hardware development and industrial engineering.
When it comes to technical interfaces, our customers use various control systems. That's why we serve a whole «zoo» of technical interfaces: Our program includes IO-Link, Modbus, PROFINET, EtherCAT, Ethernet/IP, OPC UA. And rising.
.
What is particularly important in the exchange with your interfaces?
The challenge here – but also the interesting part – is that all these people, with their different professional backgrounds and the natural fuzziness of human language, bring their requirements to us and we have to understand and interpret these wishes in order to then translate them into absolutely hard-defined programming languages. Good communication with our interfaces is therefore the «be-all and end-all» of firmware development..
.
How do you experience working at Baumer?
Collaboration at Baumer is characterized by flat hierarchies. The different teams communicate openly and directly, so that problems can be solved quickly. Furthermore, even as a team leader, no one takes it against me that I prefer to work in a hoodie and T-shirt, and with festival bands on my wrists, rather than in a shirt. I appreciate that.
.
In your role at Baumer, you are also often active at universities. Why is working with young technical talents important to you?
In order to maintain and further expand our wide range of products, we are always in need of new qualified employees. Without the work of the universities, these would soon diminish. As an industrial sensor manufacturer for automation technology, we have the challenge that we have lower visibility for students compared to other companies in the consumer or automotive environment. We can change that through events at universities and a good offer for young talents on site.
.
What advice would you give your 15-year-old self for your professional future if you could do it again today?
I would advise my 15-year-old self to continue to celebrate wild parties, enjoy life and deal with (technical and non-technical) things that give him fun and joy. In hindsight, that was definitely the right approach – if you enjoy a topic, it's easy to get good at it. Then, in the long term, a good and fulfilling career path will be found by itself.
.
