First name: Hannes
Time at EDAG / year hired: April 2016 (intern), May 2017 (full-time employee in Germany), March 2022 (moved to EDAG, Inc.)
Title: CAE Engineer
When I was little, I was always curious about how things work, and I (or more my parents, aunts, and uncles) acquired a decent library of books explaining all the stuff around us, spanning over Biology, Geology, Automotives, and many other areas. After high school, with still having that curious mindset and not too many other plans for my life, I started studying Physics. A couple of semesters in, I figured that I am still curious about how things work, but not to the degree you learn during those physics studies. My path then led me to a Mechanical Engineering program, as it still satisfies my curiosity but also involves a lot of creation of new ideas. While it took me a while to find the Engineering path, I am happy with it now… and the rest is history.
After finishing my master thesis, I thought it would benefit me and my resume to gain some experience abroad. While I had already spent some time abroad in Europe, I knew this time it had to be the USA. So, I applied for an internship at mainly German companies with an office in the US. EDAG Group was not hesitant to pick me as their new CAE intern. In this internship, I learned a lot about the world of CAE, since the US office is working on many different topics, from passive safety, over NVH to CFD topics. This internship also gave me the opportunity to connect with the CAE and Safety department in Sindelfingen, Germany, where I then started my professional career at EDAG Group. Then, 6 years later, I went full circle and found my way back to the US office on an assignment, where I spent the last two years already.
After seeing both a German office and the US office and also having worked with people from offices in Hungary, Malaysia, the UK, and China, the thing I value most in this company is exactly that international collaboration. I enjoy cultural exchange, and I am always surprised how different things are handled in different offices and countries. I was able to build strong relationships with many coworkers and sustained a professional relationship with the customers. A pleasant work environment is one of the major factors in being happy at the workplace, and I definitely found it in my Sindelfingen and in my US office. EDAG Group gave me the opportunity to work on exciting and challenging projects in the field of passive safety. The variety of those projects always gave me the chance to acquire new skills, and in busy phases, also learn something new about my own strength and resilience.
As CAE implies (computer-aided engineering), our days are primarily spent in front of computer screens. Currently, our projects entail close collaboration with teams in Malaysia and Germany, introducing potential developments since the previous day. So, each morning kicks off with the routine of logging in and playing catch-up.
One of our main jobs is to setup virtual simulations, utilizing high-performance computing clusters for running the simulation jobs, and then evaluating the results. In our current main project, we simulate regulatory crash load cases. Since a crash simulation has a lot of content, these simulations can sometimes outlast our regular work hours, my first order of business is always checking if there were any issues. If any problems occur, we will try to solve those and get the simulation back running as soon as possible.
Fortunately, our colleagues in Malaysia and Germany have usually made headway by the time we're online, streamlining some of the initial tasks, like checking the runs. During the brief window of overlap with our German colleagues, we get together to review results and plan our course for the day. Seamless communication during this time is vital, as our ability to connect dwindles as the day progresses.
The remainder of the day is a mix of internal discussions, client meetings, and getting our hands dirty with actual engineering tasks, ensuring we're making progress on all fronts.
When I am not at work, I enjoy everything outside. This might be gardening, taking pictures of birds and other wildlife, hiking (often combined with a camping trip), jogging and an occasional drink on a nice patio. While the Michigan summer and fall are perfect for those activities, Michigan winters are unfortunately no joke. During that time, I still try everything humanely possible to be outside, even if that means that I will freeze my hands and feet off.
I also love to explore the world around me. For this year I have planned many weekend trips and road trips all across Michigan and the US.
