Between office and blast furnace - Steven’s job

What did you study and what motivated you?

I have always had a strong interest in IT and technology. Even though I had no experience in programming at the time, I knew early on that I wanted to pursue a career in this field. That is why I decided to study electrical engineering.

During my electrical engineering degree program, I learned the basics of software development. However, I realized that my programming skills were not comparable to that of a computer science degree. To improve my skills, I spent a lot of time programming in my free time and engaged in software-oriented projects at university. This helped me acquire new skills and knowledge in the field of software development.

How did you come across SMS digital?

During my studies, I came across Industry 4.0 which piqued my interest in the field of digitalization. I knew right away that this was the area I wanted to work in. Towards the end of my degree, I was searching for a suitable topic for my master's thesis when I discovered SMS digital. The combination of highly complex plants and the challenge of optimizing them with digital products to make the work and maintenance of plants easier was particularly appealing to me.

To prepare for my master's thesis, I started as an intern at SMS digital in the Product Quality department. During my internship, I gained valuable insights into the daily work processes and had the opportunity to work on an exciting project. After completing my master’s thesis, I was offered a software development job, which provided a smooth start to my career.

What are you responsible for at SMS digital?

I work in the development team for our Digital Twin project and, in addition to programming the software, I am also responsible for optimizing and implementing the 3D models in our application.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

In my job at SMS digital, I appreciate the diverse range of topics and the company's openness to new technologies and ideas. The collegiality between colleagues and communication at eye level creates a pleasant working atmosphere.

Thanks to our international partners and customers, we get the opportunity to travel for business purposes. For instance, just four months after I started my permanent position, I was able to travel abroad for an exciting project. During the trip, I had the chance to discuss the next steps for the project with the customer in person, at the steelworks site. We also shared a good meal after work, which was a great way to build a stronger working relationship.

We were working on a project that required the implementation of a digital twin. We had a meeting with one of the Digital Twin supervisors to discuss the current progress and get feedback on the necessary functionalities. Once we returned to Germany, we immediately started working on the open points to ensure that our customers would receive all the desired features of the Digital Twin on time.