Women in Tech: how Audi women are shaping the future

What have been the key moments in your career so far?

One key moment was that I completed my training as a warehouse logistics specialist as the best trainee in Germany. This showed me once again that I had chosen the right career path. During my training, I gained valuable insights into the operational business and developed an understanding of a company's concerns. Also, it was always important to me to play an active role in shaping things and contribute my opinions.  I was able to do this through my role as a youth and trainee representative at the Neckarsulm site.

The employee scholarship filled me with pride, and, at the same time, I felt that Audi had great confidence in me. Logistics was my favorite subject and is still close to my heart. However, during my studies (business administration and corporate management), I wanted to learn about other areas and came to digitalization through my bachelor's thesis. After graduating, I took the plunge into this area - another key moment. I was immediately fascinated by the focus on the future, the speed, and the people in the field.

After two years of experience as an application manager, I now have the opportunity to prove myself in my technical assistant position. I really appreciate being trusted with so much and it shows me once again that it's worth taking on challenges and trying new things.

What do you regard as the key moments in your career?

After school, I started working as a consultant in the auto industry. During my first job I learned what it was like when you land in cold water and must swim. I had to put an automated small-parts storage system into operation, and everyone else kept telling me: “You can’t do this without experience or prior knowledge.” But I did do it. That was a real turning point for me, because I made a decision that I would always learn to swim. I took that with me into the future: I can do anything, no matter how cold the water is.

What is your typical workday at Audi? What sort of work do you do?

These days I work in Data Driven Production in the Data Analytics department. Our vision is to establish AI as a game changer for the future of production so that we can use data products to design Audi plants and processes more efficiently. My colleagues and I actively implement analytics and AI use cases. Predictive maintenance is one example of that. We continuously monitor the condition of our machines and facilities to avoid unplanned downtime and predict ideal times to do maintenance.

I’m convinced that data analytics and AI are crucial for Audi’s transformation and the path to data driven production. To some extent, we can even use it to revolutionize production. But that requires a strategic plan, which our AI program manager and I are working on in the form of the AI program for P. We’re planning strategic analytics and AI activity areas and drafting corresponding road maps for using AI in Audi Production efficiently and on a long-term basis.

What do you regard as the key moments in your career?
I've always been fascinated by cars, particularly in motorsport. When I was a kid, my father used to take me to a lot of DTM races at the Hockenheimring and he explained the technology to me. That’s where my enthusiasm for motorsport started. I wanted to develop racing cars myself, so I eventually opted to study mechanical engineering. I was on the Formula Student team when I was in college. That’s where I learned to take responsibility and developed much faster than I would have in normal everyday college life. Another key moment for me was when I wrote my dissertation on sustainability in motorsport.

What is your typical workday at Audi? What sort of work do you do?
My team is made up of 16 people at various locations. As the manager, I set the parameters so that my team can function at its best. We work on functional safety and define the way that customer functions operate while driving as well as energy for upcoming Audi models. For instance, that means that we deal with questions of when and under what circumstances the automatic start-stop system should turn the engine on or off and what information that function needs to make that decision.

We support and take responsibility for the development process as well as the entire functional chain and ensure that the function ultimately demonstrates exactly the customer behavior we have defined.