From Technical Project Manager to Requirements Engineer
Philip, Requirement Engineer
How did you hear about eos.uptrade?
After working as a software developer for 9 years in various positions, I got somewhat bored and so I started looking for something new. Since I was never the perfect programmer, but always very good at solving problems, I wanted to be able to take control of the tasks I was given as a developer and influence them myself.
What was your impression of your new colleagues during your first weeks? Are you still of the same opinion?
When I started, there were maybe just 40 of us, and since everyone knew each other well, there was a lot of cohesion across the different teams. Unfortunately, cohesion has declined somewhat in recent years, due to the many new colleagues whose names of course you can’t all remember, but also due to the distribution to many new locations and not least because people no longer met in person since they worked from home during the pandemic.
How did you end up doing what you do now?
After more than 2 years as a project manager and almost 4 years as a team leader in project management, I wanted to be able to focus even more on what I was good at: Identify requirements and problems, develop solutions, and further elaborate them together with other project partners. This is also one of the main tasks in technical project management, but for me it has always been the most exciting task. Therefore, I wanted to focus more on this, and there was – and still is – a need for exactly such a position at eos. We’re talking about a position that provides focused support to the product owners, projects, and project managers in terms of requirements analysis and technical conception.
What has been the biggest challenge in your career so far?
Learning to no longer just discuss from developer to developer, but to explain highly technical and immensely complex problems as simply as possible to people with less technical understanding. But without leaving out the important details. Thinking outside the box to solve problems is also even more important now than before. But that’s exactly what makes the job so special and exciting.
What keeps you here with eos?
The need for digitalisation is huge in all industries, and users in public transport in particular expect much more than those in other industries. I would like to help make public transport more attractive for the new generation of digital natives. Public transport should not only be a means to an end but must become the main hub for mobility. It can only do that if it doesn’t get in the way of true mobility. Digitalisation can do just that. And eos can do just that.
What would you tell someone who wants to work for eos?
Public transport is the perfect example of a traditional industry where you only see the tip of the iceberg. One would think that as a user you know what makes public transportation tick and, more importantly, where it needs to improve. But underneath what I see as a public transport and app user is exactly what makes public transport an industry that is not boring or outdated at all. Some parts of public transport are still at the very beginning of digitalisation, so there is a lot of catching up to do, and the industry is really eager to do it. Many things are still changing as a result of digitalisation, and some of us are still pioneers (for example, regarding changing from traditional tickets to a check-in/check-out system). In recent years, it has become apparent to the entire industry that an approach like “that’s how we’ve always done it” no longer works.
Interested? Check out our job openings and feel free to contact us.