We sat down and had a little talk with Maximilian Saßerath, AI project manager at HD Vision Systems. He told us everything about his work, his time as a working student and also some insights into the working environment.
Maximilian studied physics at the University of Heidelberg until 2020. In his spare time, he is a professional triathlete and participates in various competitions.
Who are you and what do you do at HD Vision Systems?
I am working here as a full-time programmer doing project development. My daily tasks include everything from developing the hardware setup, like considering the lighting and camera, to how to structure the software in general.
So, I do everything regarding Image Acquisition, Image Processing to artificial intelligence, and also up to the UI (User Interface) and even direct customer interaction.
And in the final stages, I often go to the customer and help them get used to the machine and adjust the system to their wishes, which helps them use the machine easier.
But this was not always your job?
No, I started off as a master’s student. I was writing my master thesis about machine learning and depth estimation with neural networks and comparing it to our usual approach, and what the advantages and disadvantages are.
Besides writing my master thesis, I started working on smaller customer projects, and then I got the responsibility for bigger and bigger projects. In the end, I got to work on one project full time and started working here 40 hours a week.
How did you get to know us back then, and why were you interested in us?
I was looking for a company to do a master thesis and met a former coworker from here. He was studying physics with me, and he just told me about the company and the good vibes you get here and the flexibility in work time and all the great things about being here.
Then I asked Christoph (CEO of HD Vision Systems) about the master thesis and the topic and that’s how I ended up here.
You have been with us full-time since January. What has changed for you since then?
Since then, not that much. The last few months of working here as a working student, I slid into working full time, so I didn’t have to get used to big changes.
One thing I noticed is that now I have more time to plan than before. That often helps with projects because you can focus completely on them without thinking about your master thesis all the time.
What do you particularly appreciate about your work here?
The flexible work time or, let’s say, the freedom to do a 2-hour lunch break, to do my sports, or work early or late on topics I don’t have to collaborate with other coworkers. The flexibility and freedom to follow the projects you are passionate about are great.
Working flexible on projects you are passionate about is great.
How has the pandemic changed your day-to-day job?
Not that much, but I think it has improved my flexibility even more because of the opportunity to work at home. Like, I worked 4 times a week at home. In that time, I can be completely flexible, do whatever I want and whenever I want to. It improved even my sports or my free time with my girlfriend. For me, this pandemic was not just bad. It helped me a lot. I think it will change the work environment for everyone in the long run, so it is not just for the worse.
Thank you for sharing your insights with us, Max!
