Always having been fascinated by the inner workings of computers, Fredrik’s favourite courses at university focused on operating systems and software engineering. After completing his master’s on embedded systems, he joined us in a research and development (R&D) role.
Software for industrial tools
More specifically, Fredrik drives R&D of industrial tools for the motor vehicle industry. In an industrial setting, the tools are very different from the ones we might use at home. Automotive manufacturers naturally have high expectations in areas like speed, energy use and ergonomics. Part of solving these challenges lies in the tools’ built-in software, which ensures functionality and the data collection needed for our connectivity solutions. This built-in software is what Fredrik’s team develops through semi-annual releases.
“Every six months we get new features for the upcoming period. We then break them down into smaller parts and define how to test the features – for example to make sure that the changes don’t destroy anything that’s already there,” he says.
Stepping into leadership
Fredrik went into the Group with curiosity and an open mind. Reflecting on his experience so far Fredrik highlights the supportive leadership and healthy work-life balance.
“Like one might expect from an established Swedish industrial company, the work environment is good and there are people that have been with the company for a long time, who you can learn a lot from.”
And learn he has done. Just over a year into his time with us, Fredrik was entrusted with coordinating a team - an opportunity he embraced with humility and determination.
“Maybe everyone is like this, but I’m fairly confident when it comes to things I know, but less so when it comes to things I know less about. So stepping into more of a leadership role was initially a challenge,” Fredrik shares.
Building skills and motivated teams
Speaking of skills, Fredrik highlights the access to competence development available through the Group. Courses to further deepen the team’s knowledge in the programming language C++ are held at regular intervals. However, over the last year leadership is the skill Fredrik has focused on. He shares that a lot of the learning has been hands on, but that he found a course in the scrum framework for collaboration very helpful.
“It’s a great foundation to give our ways of working more structure, and it’s something we apply to the teams.”
Fredrik also weaves the concept of trust and accountability into his approach.
“When someone starts working on something that perhaps isn’t the obvious solution to the matter at hand, but it seems like it could be a good idea - and it doesn’t create an obstacle for getting something done. Then why not, you know? Go for it,” Fredrik says.
“I think that’s good for motivation, to get the chance to improve the things you want to improve.”
- Current position : Scrum Master
- Upskilling in the last year: Leadership skills through practical experience and a course in the scrum framework.
- Approach to intercultural collaboration: Staying open and kind, as well as anticipating and accepting cultural differences.
Quick facts about
Fredrik
Curiosity in action
Curiosity and innovation are natural parts of R&D. However, this does not always mean starting from scratch. Fredrik shares that the application his team works with is actually far from new. So their projects are often shaped by the fact that they are adding new functionality to an existing framework. Fredrik says that working within those restrictions can sometimes be a great spark for creative solutions.
Fredrik recalls one instance, when he and the team found a way forward for a particularly challenging project. The goal was having several tools “know” what the other ones had already done, for more efficient operations at a customers’ facilities. The customer already had a “messaging protocol” called MQTT, so the team decided to build an adapter that would let our tools communicate about completed tasks.
“Building this adapter wasn’t without its challenges. But it ended up providing significant improvements for the customer. As someone who was a relatively new engineer at the time, it was a rewarding project to be part of.”
Advice from Fredrik
For early professionals with similar interests, Fredrik recommends looking into us as an employer.
“I work with C++ which is not the most popular programming language these days, especially among new graduates, but I know other teams work with C# and Javascript and so on. So basically, there are plenty of paths to explore here.”