Alumni Interview #Februari

What was the title of your master thesis project?  Where did you do your master thesis and who was your supervisor?

I did my master thesis at TNO under the guidance of Michel Verhaegen and Rudolf Saathof. Since I did a double degree in Systems & Control and Optomechatronics, I combined both masters into one thesis about laser communication. The title was “Fiber coupling enhancement in Optical Communication Terminals”, where I designed and built a tracking system for a satellite receiver, which can achieve robust communication using a control algorithm. 

Data is sent through laser pulses to the satellite receiver. For optimal performance, the  laser pulses need to be steered into the satellite with very high precision. A mirror is used to steer the laser beam properly on a detector. This mirror is positioned very accurately by implementing a gradient-based algorithm called Extremum Seeking Control.  

Did you have a favourite S&C course?

I did not really have a favourite S&C course. However, in my opinion the course Philosophy and Science has been the most interesting course of my master program. This course is completely different than the academic challenges we face during the Master. It makes you think about the ethical consequences of your work as an engineer, which I think is important because it is easily forgotten.

Do you have any great memories of studying system and control at the TU Delft you want to share?

I do have one funny memory. Together with some others, I found out about the basement at the S&C wing at 3mE. This basement is almost never used but there are a lot of monitors which are for projects, such as the Integration Project. It was a great study place, as not a lot of people knew about it. What we did not know was that the entrance to this place closed at 6 pm and that you needed authority to open the door after that time. And of course, we did not have that authority… Once we had a good day of studying, it was already past 6 pm, and so we got locked up in the basement. We managed to jump out of a window which came out at the waterside of 3mE. We could get back to the ground via the ledge along the building. Everybody had their laptop with them so luckily no one ended up in the water (even the girls on high heels made it). Afterwards we heard we were not the first with this experience. 

Where do you work at the moment? And what does your typical day look like?

Since past June I work at Adyen. Adyen is a growing Dutch payment service provider that connects to payment methods across the world with its online platform. I am a Java developer and I coordinate tests to make sure the software of Adyen is working properly. At the office we have payment terminals, on which we test all kinds of transactions using robotic arms.  

My work mainly consists of programming. This ranges from ensuring newly implemented features are behaving as expected to developing new tests. Due to COVID19 I am working from home these days. It is much harder to get to know you colleagues while working from home.  Nevertheless, I really enjoy working at Adyen. It challenges me and I believe there are many opportunities to learn and grow within this company. 

Is the study material still relevant to your daily occupations?

The analytical way of thinking we learn during the Master really helped me to like and excel at my work. Breaking down problems into smaller pieces makes it possible to look at programming problems in a creative way, like a puzzle. This is very relevant for what I am doing nowadays.  There are so many possibilities to tackle a problem, it is our challenge to find the best possible way.  

Have you worked on an interesting project lately?

Yes, I actually did. As a little project during COVID19 my girlfriend and I have been working on an application, using a neural network, that could recognize birdsongs based on its frequencies. It turned out that it was very difficult to distinguish between similar birdsongs. Eventually we created an application that could recognize ten different birds. It was a really fun project!  

Do you have any advice for students pursuing a career in your field of work?

To find a suitable job, talking to employees helped me the most. I also attended quite some inhouse days and went to multiple events of Techniek Bedrijven. But it is difficult at such days to get a good impression of a company’s atmosphere during this time, as the companies mainly try to sell themselves to as much people as possible.  By getting in contact with employees you already know (even indirectly), you get a much better understanding about working at that company. My other advice is to take your time to find out what you want and where you are looking for in your job. I didn’t want financial problems to be a driving factor in deciding on a job, so I took a parttime job via Xtend, such that I could take my time finding a company that really suits me. Also, I really didn’t like some aspects of my part-time job. Therefore, it was easier for me to narrow down what I want in a job.