Andreas, Process Development engineer in the pharma sector - Germany

On the blog today we discover the career path of Andreas, Process Development engineer in the pharmaceutical industry in our German subsidiary.

Hello Andreas, can you introduce yourself in a few words?

Hello everyone, my name is Andreas. I studied biotechnology at the technical university of Munich.

Since I was young, I always had a strong interest in chemistry, biology, and sciences in general.

It’s especially interesting for me to use scientific and engineering knowledge in a practical, useful application.

During my studies, I also did an exchange semester in India. It was an amazing opportunity to get to know a new culture and expand my horizon. In January 2021, I graduate from my studies with a Master’s degree and was open to new opportunities.

Other than that, I practice sports a lot: judo (I have my black belt), hiking, biking,…

What brought you into the engineering world? Was it something you always considered to be your professional path?

A lot of my student’s mates chose the research and more academic path; while I dedicated my future to practical sciences applications.

As a consequence,  I chose to pursue my biotechnology studies with a focus on technical application.

In your opinion, what are the main qualities necessary to succeed as an engineer?

I would say, of course to have a solid background knowledge, but also a strong interest in your activity field.

Do not be afraid to ask questions if you are not sure or do not know something. You need to be humble and accept the fact that at the start you won’t know everything.

Try not to stand still, but try to learn something new all the time and develop your skills. It is good also to be able to work with a team, and trust each other, as everybody has his field of expertise.

How did you got in touch with MCA Germany? How did the recruitment process went?

Carina, my recruiter, contacted me via Xing during my studies. We exchanged together a lot about possible projects.

Just after my graduation, we called again to go into more details.

They had a huge opportunity in the pharmaceutical sector and thought I could be a good candidate for it.

The recruitment process went and very quickly I got a positive feedback from the team.

It was nice to start this project with this specific client, as I already experienced a training with them during my studies.

What is your current project, and in which industry?

Through my project, I support the technical development of production processes for a pharmaceutical company.

I work with bioreactors as well as different chromatography and filtration methods. Our goal is to purify a pharmaceutical product from impurities for a safe application in patients.

We specialize on products used for gene therapy to cure genetical diseases. It is very interesting and at the same time incredibly rewarding to work in a projects which could change patients lives in the future.

What is amazing is that my client is very open, and gives us opportunities to grow, express ourselves and bring in our ideas. When I started, I felt a warm welcome, it feels very good working here.

What do you like the most about your project, and what do you find challenging?

What I enjoy the most is definitely the practical work, in the laboratory, seeing the results of experiments. It’s a lot of fun!

I also like the fact that I get to work with other departments, so people with other specialties (analytics, data science, process experts…). It’s really refreshing to exchange knowledge.

Another point is that here at my client you have your own voice and can make decision yourself, everyone takes their responsibility. It is very important for you to grow professionally.

The main challenge is that gene therapy is a really new field in the company. It’s challenging because you quickly need to become an expert in a new field. Sometimes you can not rely on old methods and you have to be creative and find new solutions.

What do you appreciate the most about working at MCA?

I would say that it is very easy to access to our manager to interact, ask questions, discuss new opportunities and so on. We have a lot of support from MCA in that matter.

The follow-up in 6-week rhythm is really good, and we don’t feel left alone at the client. It’s a real plus!

Any advice for some new engineer stepping into his career?

If you like what you do, bring interest and self-motivation and also show this to others, you can be really successful.