Kartik: My name is Kartik and I started at KONUX on April 1st, 2022 as a Sr. Product Manager. I am a problem solver with a passion for driving technological innovation in established industries.
Penny: I joined the KONUX Labs team as a UX Researcher in February 2022. I focus on understanding the various roles, contexts, and needs of our customers to identify pain points and opportunities to develop new solutions expanding on KONUX capabilities.
Kartik: As I was planning to make a move to Germany, I was intrigued by the successes driven by TUM Innovation programs. I started researching the companies founded at TU Munich and KONUX really grabbed my attention as they are bringing the power of IoT and machine learning to enable digital transformation in the railway industry. The intersection of hardware, software, and cloud technologies has always excited me, and having an opportunity to work at a company that is driving efficiency and trust in the railway industry was hard to pass up considering its contributions toward a sustainable future.
Penny: I was looking for roles in Munich which combine UX research, design, and technology and saw the vacancy online. The Labs team works as an idea incubator to develop new product opportunities, putting our customers and end-users at the heart of the process. I’m strongly drawn towards work in companies that aim to impact people through positive change, so the KONUX vision of transforming an age-old industry with modern technologies and a human-centered approach was really compelling. Plus, I get to learn all about railways!
Kartik: My onboarding experience has been very smooth and enjoyable. I was provided with many resources from relocation support to services for managing my visa application. The team was very supportive with remote onboarding and I was surprised that on Day 1, I was provided with a very clear 30-60-90 day plan that outlined my expectations and goals in the Sr. Product Manager role. In addition, I was provided with a list of key stakeholders with whom to discuss specific topics which was a great way to dive in and start contributing immediately. I also was able to come to Munich to visit and meet with the team and get to know everyone individually and in a group format. I especially enjoy how the in-office team at KONUX all have lunch together every day which makes the atmosphere very friendly and welcoming!
Penny: Overall, I’ve had a positive experience so far, from the hiring process through to the first weeks of onboarding. The relocation support provided helped make the move from Singapore to Germany a lot less daunting, especially with all the bureaucracy one has to wade through in any global relocation. I could get in touch with my hiring manager or People & Culture contact whenever I had questions.
Learning more about my role during onboarding has positively reinforced my decision to join the team because the scope of work and KONUX culture align perfectly with my career goals and interests. As Labs is relatively new, we’re doing a lot of the groundwork now to set up our workflows and strategies within the team and the larger KONUX organization. This has meant many intense discussions on the hows and whys of what we do, but our team has a good synergy combining our individual expertise, and hearing these different perspectives is quite enjoyable.
Penny: The onboarding was quite comprehensive as an introduction to the entire company and involved learning about the work and team in each department in KONUX. We met with each department head, who shared key information about their team, and got to ask questions. Listening to the various presentations revealed how each team is working to drive the company forward. It is pretty cool seeing everyone move together towards a common goal. I liked having this overview of the company and the opportunity to meet colleagues whom I might not immediately get a chance to work with directly.
Kartik: KONUX has built a great general onboarding program where the different department leads give you an overview of the what, why, and how of their team’s role and also give you an opportunity to ask questions. It is clear that KONUX is a well-oiled machine and all the processes were discussed, reviewed, and documented so I was provided with all the information I needed to be successful. Everyone has been incredibly warm and open to questions and helping me learn how I can add value to the team.
Penny: Honestly, the first thing that comes to mind is the vast amount of documentation available to read. The next thing is the commitment to improving not only the product we offer to customers but our internal processes as well. For example – going back to my first encounter with documentation – there is an ongoing discussion on knowledge management to better our way of collecting and sharing information. It was great to hear that because I could initiate a project to organize our UX research repository while familiarizing myself with the previous work done.
Penny: Don’t hesitate to talk to people and ask questions. Everyone I’ve met has been so generous with sharing their knowledge and experience, and there is so much to learn.
Kartik: I personally learn by doing and I was given some tasks that I was able to sink my teeth into early on in my onboarding process. There is a lot of ground to cover and a lot of information to absorb so my advice would be to balance your time properly where you can feel good contributing towards KONUX’s success early but also taking the time to learn and let the information sink in.
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