The automotive industry is in a period of transition: Highly automated driving, eMobility and connectivity – all will be important in the future. Marc wants to help shape this transition. "What we are developing now will be on our roads in a few years' time. It makes me proud to see a vehicle driving past and know that I helped to develop its control units," he says.
How electronics works has always fascinated Marc. After finishing secondary school, he first of all did an apprenticeship as a mechatronics technician in Fulda, his hometown. As his company did not have its own apprentice workshop at the time, from day one he was allowed to work directly on the production line when maintenance jobs, modifications and new installations were being carried out. "At that time, I was most interested in automation engineering. During my apprenticeship, I developed a great deal of software for the programmable logic controls of production facilities. However, the really complex problems were often dealt with by external service providers," recalls Marc. He wanted to be able to do that, too, so went to Darmstadt to study electrical engineering and information technology.
After finishing his master's degree, Marc worked for several years in an automotive supplier's development department before coming to Fulda and joining the EDAG Group, initially as a project manager for embedded systems. Today, he is a team leader with 30 employees working in embedded software development. “The good thing about working here is that our projects are very varied. As a general rule, the projects are completed within two years at the most, after which our developers then move on to another project. It is never boring, and you are always at the cutting edge,” says Marc.
Marc and his team develop safe and powerful software for control units that will go into future generations of vehicles, at all vehicle levels. “We are involved in every phase — from the concept to start of production. A number of prototypes and showcases have also been created by our team.” One example Marc can mention is the truck that can take over transport tasks for logistics centers in areas not open to the public. Or the self-driving harvester developed in Fulda and already in use in Brazil for the sugar beet harvest.
"It's an amazing feeling when, at the end of a project, you see that the thing really works, and all the effort has paid off," says Marc. Viewed in this light, the changes in the industry he works in do not worry him. As he says, stagnation would be the worst thing that could happen. "People who want to get ahead and try out new things will always be in demand in our industry."
After his apprenticeship, Marc spend ten years in other parts of Germany, both as a student and working for other companies. Then at the beginning of 2017, he was drawn back to Fulda, where he still had friends with whom he had never lost contact. He is currently renovating his childhood home for his family and himself. Another advantage of being in Fulda for the passionate skier and snowboarder is its proximity to the Rhön Mountains: a 15-minute car ride, and he can be speeding down the slopes of the Wasserkuppe or another mountain. If there is any snow, that is.
To begin with, he was surprised to find exactly what he was looking for in the EDAG Group in Fulda. "I always had this image in my head of EDAG as the classic employee leasing company, with the majority of employees spending most of their time at the customers' premises," recounts Marc. But his daily routine couldn't be more different: he and his team spend most of their working hours at the EDAG site in Fulda or working from home. Only in exceptional cases, for kick-offs or project milestones, do they go to the purchasing companies. For most of the employees, this means travelling for one or two days a year.
He finds he can create a very good balance between his job and his family life. Having flex-time, for instance, enables him to take his small daughter to kindergarten on a regular basis. Just one of many points that, from his point of view, make working for the EDAG Group an attractive proposition. "We are family friendly, and also respond to the needs of each individual in other ways, too," says Marc. As a team leader, this is also a matter of great importance to him. It makes no difference whether someone is planning a world tour and wants to work remotely while away, wants to work fewer hours for private reasons and so have more time for their family, or just needs a month off. "Wherever possible, we try to make sure these things happen," says Marc. Because a positive and open working atmosphere in which employees and supervisors treat each other with respect and friendliness is important to him, as are flat hierarchies and plenty of scope for creativity.
Retaining good employees, securing new talent: as a mentor to students, Marc also does all he can to get the next generation interested in working for the EDAG Group. "We train our students on special innovation projects, and in this way make them fit for direct entry into the automotive industry," says Marc. To this end, he and his team have devised a development process that gives students the opportunity to learn about the development steps from the concept phase to the vehicle on the road. The students can, for example, work on the "Kidscar" innovation project, in which, step by step, a small electric car for children is transformed into an autonomous model vehicle.
Marc sees this as a major gain, as it enables him to learn about and try out innovations along with the students, and ideally also acquire motivated new employees for his team. And, as Marc points out, your resume doesn't necessarily need to be conventional. As a team leader, he also finds unusual biographies fascinating and the people behind them often particularly enriching. "People go their different ways, you should give each and every person a chance."
