Bosch Rexroth

The Rough Start

My first project was a bootloader for the CAN bus protocol on an industrial pilot module. I was an electrical engineer who had spent a semester cramming software skills before joining. It showed. The first three months were hard. The first real dip of confidence in what had been a fairly frictionless academic career. I was put up for a team transfer.

The Bet

Naveen C J, the Delivery Manager on IndraWorks, Bosch Rexroth's flagship industrial automation product, wanted to take a bet on me. I pushed back at 22, worried about career risk. He pushed harder. How wrong was I to hesitate.

Something about systematic defect-hunting just fit. Within eight months I had reported 100 defects. A milestone that typically took colleagues five or six years. I became recognized across the Rexroth sister team in Germany, was invited to work on-site, and started writing automation scripts for our test suites. My communication skills and instinct for cross-team relationships turned out to matter as much as any technical output.

The Exit

When I resigned for Duke, the disappointment went up to the VP level. He asked me for coffee. Asked what my career ambitions were. I told him. He wished me well.

Probably my favorite desk job I have ever had, in terms of pure craft and feedback loops. I still think about how much I learned about quality, precision, and systems thinking in those two years.