Exciting projects with increasing complexity and responsibility
After 6 years in business I was offered to take a position in the platform development team for Metros is Derby (UK). I was exposed to a completely different working environment both culturally and technically, which boosted my personal development and networks. 10 years later I took over the role as Project Engineering Director for a high speed project for China ("Zefiro China"), where we developed the first High-Speed Train in Bombardier. We were entering new grounds for the company in various aspects and were the front end of the technological development in Bombardier. 2 years ago I became Site Engineering Director in Hennigsdorf, which is my home site. I want to integrate my home engineering site into Alstom and establish Hennigsdorf as a recognized Train Development Site within the Alstom community.
I manage one of the largest Engineering Sites in Alstom
I am managing a Engineering Site with ca. 750 engineers. The engineers are spread over all engineering areas that are relevant to design a train, e.g. System Engineering, Software Engineering, Mechanical Design, Testing Safety Engineering and Certification. We are a very diverse team coming from several different nations and continents. This a key asset to understand customer needs in different countries. English is our company language. We are designing trains from metros to regional and suburban trains to high speed trains. The variety of customers and products provides a constant stream of challenges, which is very exciting and motivating for all us. We can only manage the challenges as one team. Railway engineering is always a team effort!
People and Products
I like very much like to work with people. As said before: Success in Railway engineering is always a team effort and almost never of one hero alone. It is moreover a fantastic experience to be part of the development of people and see them growing in their career.
Railway products are complex and they involve a high level of novelty. We have constantly to adapt our design to new technologies and customer aspirations. Moreover trains are sustainable and we can see them even after 30 years (the trains of my first project are still in service).
The combination of products and people motivates me most in my role, since I can leave long-lasting traces in the sand.
Continuously learning and growing with challenges
Even if it sounds general: Never stop to learn at any time of your life or phase of your career. Learning provides a decent reflection of yourself and others. Learning can be tough, maybe even sometimes painful, but it is very enriching and equips you to master the challenges of the future.
There is a saying: "You grow with the challenges". The challenges should be big enough that you feel a decent stretch. However, they should be not so big that they are not manageable for you. "Rome was not build in one day". The same applies for your career.
Development of High-speed train for China
I am most proud of having been a member of the team, which developed the first high-speed train ("Zefiro China") for the company (Bombardier) at that time. It was a team from all over the world (Canada, UK, Germany, China, Israel). We developed in less than 4 years together with our colleagues in Qingdao (China) the product. In various ways we touched new grounds, but we managed it. The trains are now running very successfully in China.
In April this year we will have a virtual re-union of the team. We will celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the successful test run at maximum speed, which was one of key milestones of this project. I am very much looking forward to this event.
