Thomas, Hardware Development (High-frequency Development) Team Lead
“I was part of the team – and now I want to lead it well.”
When I joined FRITZ! as a working student in 2016, I never would have thought I’d be leading two teams just a couple of years later. It wasn’t part of some big career plan, but something that just happened, one step at a time. I was able to contribute, people took me seriously, and I grew into each new challenge. Back then, I was tinkering, measuring, and writing the code myself. Today, my job is more about bringing all the pieces together and maintaining the open, respectful team culture I’ve always experienced at FRITZ!
Two teams with one goal
I lead both of the high-frequency development (HF) teams. These are the same teams I used to work in myself. One focuses on development and ensuring that the HF interfaces in the FRITZ!Box work perfectly. The other team focuses on ensuring we comply with all the relevant standards and regulations. The two teams work closely together – not just in meetings. To put it simply, if something in a FRITZ!Box sends or receives a wireless signal, we’re responsible for the hardware that makes that work.
Growing with support
Moving into a leadership role worked out for me because I wasn’t just thrown in at the deep end. My former team lead is still available to me as an advisor. My new manager takes time to regularly check in with me, and other team leaders support me with their experience. It is up to me how I actually do my job. What matters to me is that everyone on the team feels and knows their work matters, and every opinion will be listened to. Even if it’s my job to ultimately decide which path we will take.