Tim Rosenkrantz has been with System Verification for sixteen years and here is the journey he has done thus far. Read more about how he went from an agile tester to an experienced test automation engineer.
In May 2007, freshly graduated with a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, I was facing a future full of possibilities. I had realized that electrical engineering wasn't truly my passion, but I had also discovered a strong interest in programming, hardware, and emerging technology during my studies. My thesis focused on creating automated tests for a new programming language called StreamBits, developed by Ericsson AB in Gothenburg.
Armed with a toolbox of programming skills and a newfound interest in testing, I decided to let Google guide my career path. It didn't take long before I came across a company specializing in testing and offering consulting services to companies like Ericsson and Sony Ericsson in Lund - that company was System Verification.
I submitted my CV, and within hours, the HR manager called to schedule an interview. Shortly after, I signed the contract and prepared to start in August after the summer break. One advantage of working at a consulting firm, I thought, was that I could explore different short-term assignments to find my true area of interest without changing employers.
However, my assignments turned out to be longer than expected. My shortest assignment was 11 months, and my longest lasted a whopping 8 years! My first assignment was at Ericsson Mobile Platforms as a tester in a department called Type Approval. There, I conducted tests on Ericsson's own mobile platforms, ensuring they met 3GPP requirements for radio devices in 2G, 3G, and later 4G.
The expensive test equipment motivated testers to work in two shifts to maximize its usage, with shifts split between day and afternoon/evening, extending into midnight. Over time, I began contemplating new challenges, and an opportunity within the same department arose - traveling around the world to provide test support to customers and telecom operators, conducting operator-specific tests. This adventure kept me on the assignment for a full eight years!
During these years, my job responsibilities evolved significantly. I had the opportunity to explore test automation and even act as a test lead for new features. Eventually, the assignment concluded when Ericsson decided to withdraw from the mobile platform market. I and a few other consultants were the last to leave the department after supporting customers and managing the remaining product lifecycle, as well as decommissioning all equipment and classified products.
After this assignment, I spent three months at the office in Malmö before a new opportunity arose. System Verification's office in Stockholm needed more consultants due to project demand. I didn't hesitate to express my interest. I soon had an interview at Nordnet, and a contract was signed. I worked on creating automated test cases for Nordnet's website, mobile app, SQL database, and backend. This challenge required me to learn Erlang, a language I had no previous experience with, but I embraced the challenge and acquired new skills through self-study with the help of online courses provided by System Verification.
After about 1.5 years at Nordnet, I felt it was time to return to Skåne. Even before my assignment at Nordnet concluded, I had a new position as a Test Lead at Borg Warner in Landskrona lined up. Borg Warner, formerly Haldex, is an automotive player that manufactures drivetrain systems and their control for cars. I was responsible for planning, coordinating, and conducting tests, as well as automating tests for their Electronic Control Unit (ECU), which controls the distribution of drive power between front and rear wheels and right and left. This is a crucial function in today's cars to prevent skidding and loss of grip on the road.
These test cases were developed using a specific tool and a C-based programming language (CAPL) that is tailored to the automotive industry. I had no prior experience with this language or tool, but with my programming background, it wasn't a significant challenge to learn a new syntax. Another new knowledge I acquired during this assignment was Controller Area Network (CAN), a network system common in modern cars used for communication between different components.
After my time at Borg Warner, my toolbox of knowledge and skills expanded even further. I already had a new assignment in sight. My current assignment, which is also my most challenging to date, is at Bosch eBike in Lund. Here, we manufacture and develop components for smart electric bicycles, including motors, batteries, remote controllers, and bike computers. My task was to create an end-to-end automation solution from scratch to run on the bike components themselves.
These components communicate with each other over the CAN bus, something I had learned a lot about in my previous assignment. The bike computer also connects via Bluetooth to a mobile app that sends data to a backend, where it is stored in a database. Users can then retrieve and view their bike data on a website. Since I had never done this before, I asked around among my colleagues at System Verification for tips and tricks on how to approach the problem. With my previous knowledge and the collective experience of System Verification behind me, I managed to create a functional solution in just three months and continued to develop and expand it with more tests. These tests are still used for product maintenance today.
So, my journey has been a long one, currently 16 years as of writing this. I have worked in Telecommunications, Banking, and the Automotive industry. I've learned a lot and had fun along the way. I've seized the opportunity to learn new things as they come and haven't been afraid to take on significant tasks when I felt supported both by System Verification and colleagues to acquire knowledge and experience to deliver the best possible solution to the customer.
Currently, I work and enjoy my time at Bosch eBike in Lund, where I work 100% remotely as I have moved to Boden with my wife and two children. My future plans are to further develop my skills in test automation and continuous integration to be able to join System Verification's Test Automation as a Service team.
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