My story at LEONI
My name is Daniel. I have been employed as Lead Expert, Functional Safety at LEONI in Kitzingen since April 2023. I began my career in 2010 with a dual-study program in vehicle electronics at the Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University (DHBW) in Ravensburg via another automotive component supplier. LEONI first came onto my radar through a recruiter because I only knew the company as a cable manufacturer and thought that it would not be of interest to me. After two interesting interviews, I was convinced the opposite was true and it was clear to me that LEONI should be the next stage in my career. The young, dynamic team, the innovative products that go beyond cables as well as the opportunity to make a difference are what make LEONI appealing to me despite the tight situation in the automotive industry.
I previously passed through a wide range of career stages with two different component suppliers: from being a developer in hardware system integration to project quality assurance under ASPICE and through to technical project leadership.
This is my job
As Lead Expert, Functional Safety, I bear responsibility for work aspects surrounding functional safety (i.e. safety engineering and safety management) within a project. My tasks include preparing safety plans as well as coordinating with everyone involved and also drafting technical safety concepts.
In so doing, I participate primarily in developing zone controllers. Without these controllers nothing will happen in the car of tomorrow: they ensure that all vehicle functions, such as lights and control units for autonomous driving, are supplied with power at all times. Even in the case of a partial wiring system failure they make sure that the driver can still control the vehicle and gets home safely by maintaining power supply. Without these smart electronics, which were developed with safety foremost in mind, this would be unthinkable.
What I find especially fascinating about this is that I learn to assess and understand the interactions between hardware, software, and the overarching systems in my job. My development job gives me an overview of the entire vehicle – a privilege that only a few have in their job.
My daily routine
Start of the day
My morning starts with a good breakfast – preferably with some porridge and fruit from my own garden – and a cup of coffee or tea. Thereafter I either get ready for the office and drive the 25 minutes by car to Kitzingen or kick off my work immediately from home. As soon as my computer is up and running, I use the time until the first meeting by working on my emails and then making a rough plan for the day: I update and prioritize my to-dos and see with which people I still need to spontaneously coordinate.
Morning
My morning normally consists of meetings of all kinds. As a core team member, project meetings are part of my everyday working life. Our electronics projects are nimbly organized – this means that we have brief, daily coordinating meetings and that pending work packages are clustered in sprints. This enables us to respond more dynamically to changes in the project – unlike in the case of conventional project planning. Thanks to daily meetings, everyone knows on what each team member is working. I furthermore make sure of very close coordination with my colleagues.
Then there are of course also the conversations with our customers. These are also extremely varied: from negotiating the DIA (Development Interface Agreement) to reporting the safety-relevant work products through to technical discussion, there are a large number of matters to be covered.
Lunch break
I spend my lunch break either with colleagues in the canteen or, if I’m working from home, in my own kitchen. If there’s enough time left, and the weather is okay, I thereafter go out for some fresh air before continuing my work at about 1 p.m.
Afternoon
In the afternoon it is a matter of getting the work packages done. This might involve preparing a safety plan, reviewing completed development documentation, or also holding a workshop to resolve a safety requirement together with colleagues from the specialist departments and other safety engineers. So it always remains varied, and every day is different.
Evening
After my work is done, I call it a day – usually between 5 and 5.30 p.m. I like to balance the mental work done by getting my hands dirty: either on my car, in my garden or my house. There’s always something to do. If on occasion I’m not keen on that I’ll meet friends for dinner in a good restaurant in the old town of Würzburg and we thereafter stay in the city a bit longer.
My highlights
My first contact with a customer for LEONI in the summer was especially exciting. During a project day, I had the opportunity to convincingly present our expertise in the field of functional safety. Despite my usual excitement when initially contacting customers, the size of the projects at LEONI compared with my prior experience was an additional challenge. I nevertheless succeeded in conveying to the customer that we are expert providers for functional safety, and the feedback on my presentation was very positive.
I find subjects that require innovation especially challenging. Often, we are confronted with requirements for which there is not yet any technical solution on the market, such as redundant supply to consumer units in conjunction with absence of reaction requirements. In such cases, we will devise unique solutions in workshops together with our developers, document the results and extrapolate corresponding tasks. Sometimes we can even register these solutions as patents. It is especially rewarding to see how we get, within the shortest possible space of time, from “I have no idea how we will solve that” to “hey, we’ve developed something innovative here that’s worthy of a patent” with the right people.
My view of LEONI as an employer
I appreciate LEONI as an employer because we develop interesting products that are independent of a possible drivetrain transformation in the automotive industry. Moreover, I enjoy the creative freedom that LEONI gives me, even though this is a corporation with almost 100,000 employees.
The work culture within my sphere is strongly solution focused. We avoid any silo mentality but rather get projects to their destination by working with other departments. A very friendly and open atmosphere prevails within my department. We treat each other as equals, have lively discussions, criticize openly and constructively (!) but we are also appreciative when someone has done a job well. This appreciation does also go beyond the local saying “if you're not being criticized, take it as a compliment.”
How would I describe LEONI in three words? - solution-oriented, innovative, and fair.
My tips for future colleagues
Just as in any other company, a structured working method is a basic precondition. Yet this is especially important in functional safety because there is otherwise the risk that we spread ourselves too thinly and lose sight of the actual goal – namely of safely supplying the vehicle with power and data. Being open to arguments and new findings is also essential. Discussions are not a necessary evil but an opportunity to recognize critical points and to broaden your horizons. And finally, clear communication also vis-à-vis managers and project leaders is a precondition. You should not let yourself be intimidated by their authority but clearly say how things are if they get critical on occasion.
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