Physics & Engineering
User-Centric Design
B.Sc.Bachelor of Physics, 2007–2011medical and laser physics
M.Sc.Master of Physics, 2011–2014biophysics and nanotechnology
Research within the Nanosystems Initiative Munich (NIM) and the Center for NanoScience (CeNS)
B.Sc.Bachelor's thesis, 2011Development of a microscope for single-molecule spectroscopy using "Single Molecule Cut and Paste"
M.Sc.Master's thesis, 2014Development of a laser microscope for measuring cell activity on nanostructures
Image: d.collectiveRedesign Democracy was the flagship project of the non-profit d.collective, a network hub for the Design Thinking community that provides a playground to develop and test new event and workshop formats. The goal: to empower people to improve their world through human-centred design.
The two-day workshop was open to the public. Participants pitched their ideas, developed them in teams with coaches and had the chance to pass their solutions on to policymakers.
Image: BetaPort via baunetz-architekten.deBetaPort is a Berlin start-up that began with a project on homeless integration (with Berliner Stadtmission, Housing First). I supported the founding team with the first workshops, ideation and project management.
Together, we designed a modular neighbourhood that integrates homeless people into everyday life. Its architecture follows sustainable cradle-to-cradle principles, and with this approach BetaPort is still a growing player in sustainable architecture.
At the Space Station Design Workshop (SSDW) of the University of Stuttgart, international student teams designed modules for a future space station, seen from the perspective of the people who will live in it.
With User-Centric Design, the teams interviewed four astronauts and space experts: Reinhold Ewald, Romain Charles, Hervé Stevenin and Antonio Fortunato. From their insights, the teams built and tested first prototypes.
Photo: navel robotics
Navel is a social robot for care facilities. It makes eye contact, addresses people by name, remembers earlier conversations and responds with empathy, activating residents emotionally and cognitively.
Care has too few hands for too many people. Navel does not replace caregivers. It gives residents attention in the moments when nobody else has the time.
A robot that sees, listens and talks with vulnerable people is a compliance challenge: data protection, AI regulation and safety. Making that work is my job.
Education · 2007–2014
Bachelor of Physics (B.Sc.), 2007–2011, with a focus on medical physics and laser physics. Bachelor's thesis: development of a microscope for single-molecule spectroscopy using "Single Molecule Cut and Paste".
Master of Physics (M.Sc.), 2011–2014, with a focus on biophysics and nanotechnology (NIM & CeNS). Master's thesis: development of a laser microscope for measuring cell activity on nanostructures.
Research · 2011–2014
Two theses in microscopy: a microscope for single-molecule spectroscopy, and a laser microscope measuring cell activity on nanostructures.
Lens-based cell microscopy is expensive. My thesis therefore investigated how information such as cell vitality, cell division and growth behaviour can be measured without any optical lenses.
The solution: let the cells grow on a periodic nanostructure made of gold, and take a close look at the Bragg pattern of the reflected light, which the cells disturb. The light intensity revealed the confluence, i.e. the cell density on the surface. A frequency analysis of these measurements in the kilohertz range also revealed the vitality of the cells, and even apoptosis, when a cell breaks down into its parts before it dies, could be detected with this method.
The image above was taken at LMU. It shows that the cell was fully vital until it was shock-frozen: it survived on the self-made, lithographically structured optical grating and even multiplied, as it was caught in the moment of cell division.
The image below shows my experimental setup: two samples were measured simultaneously (one with and one without cells) to compensate for drift and to make sure that the measured signal really came from the cells.
These results led to further experiments with cells and bacteria, culminating in the formation of the start-up Phio by my former colleague and supervisor Philipp Paulitschke.
Automotive · 2015–2017
Development of power electronics and a starter for the Thales Hawkei. The Hawkei is a protected military vehicle program worth $1.3 billion AUD, with in-house production of 1,000 units.
Responsible for process management within functional safety (ISO 26262), reliability analyses and FMEA.
The Hawkei is a protected military vehicle by Thales Australia, a programme worth 1.3 billion Australian dollars. Magnet-Motor developed its power generation system: a 24-volt, 30 kW generator with an electric starter. The challenge was to build it as one robust, military-grade unit that meets extremely high EMI requirements.
As systems engineer, I accompanied the system from prototype validation to certified series production. I led the EMI engineering team through filter design and MIL-STD-461 testing, set up our in-house EMI chamber, and rebuilt the DOORS requirements database to close the traceability gaps between system, subsystem and component level.
The project was completed successfully: today, more than 1,000 Hawkei vehicles are in service.
Functional Safety · 2015–2017
Responsible for process management within functional safety (ISO 26262), reliability analyses and FMEA.
Source: d.school model via ux.stackexchange.comDesign Thinking is a six-step process that everyone can learn: understand, observe, point of view, ideate, prototype, test. But it is more than a process. It is a method for generating innovation that starts with the user: with empathy, interviews and observation. It was developed as a universal language for designers, and it is my personal key to working with people from various fields.
Education · 2018
Agile frameworks for product development: the Scrum framework, Kanban boards and agile transformation.
UI/UX Design · 2019
Coordinated small Scrum projects (e.g. HessenForst, metr) and ran qualitative interviews to derive product features from user needs.
Photo: SuMusI worked with three design thinkers to coach four teams, conducting targeted interviews and designing tailored guidelines. From these insights, we co-developed SuMus, a virtual physiotherapist tool.
Design Thinking · 2019–2021
Designed and facilitated Design Thinking workshops in automotive, health, energy, education and start-ups, with a focus on user-centricity.
Accompanied product development and agile transformations for partners such as Siemens, University of Stuttgart, Viessmann, Signal Iduna and BTA.
BetaHood · 2019
In collaboration with Berliner Stadtmission, we co-designed a neighborhood of modular living spaces based on sustainable cradle-to-cradle principles.
Lecturing · 2019–2021
Design Thinking workshops at BTA Business Trends Academy, for managers in retraining programmes funded by the employment agency.
Automotive · 2021–2022
Scaling the Daimler software factory Mbition (MBUX CI/CD pipeline) through hardware development and IoT-based test systems, optimising workflows and redesigning the testbenches.
Photo: Adobe StockTest engineers at Mbition (Berlin) validate roughly 8 billion lines of automotive code daily. Flashing each build onto physical vehicles doesn't scale, so cars are emulated by testbenches.
The MTTF project (Managed Test Target Farm) was a highly automated farm of 200+ interconnected HIL setups (hardware in the loop). In this way, Daimler engineers worldwide could access them through a browser application, without needing any test hardware on site.
In a small team, we led and scaled a satellite of the MTTF directly at Mbition, Daimler's software factory in Berlin, from ~30 to 100+ testbenches – while staying in close contact with the mothership for software development.
Besides IT support, my job was to ramp up the testbenches and to improve them with a user-centric design: I colour-coded the plugs and handed out an onboarding flyer to all engineers, which reduced misuse and downtimes.
Green Innovation · 2022
Together with the sustainability department, I designed and facilitated the "Green Innovation Pitch", an internal contest for driving sustainable improvements within the workplace.
IIoT & Risk Management · 2023–2024
Built up and shaped an IIoT campus to open new business opportunities in risk management: tailored innovation workshops, and small projects developing interactive demos that make complex technology tangible.
Photo: HDI TH!NXA cold call on LinkedIn, could not say no to that challenge: In just five months, we (a team of 4 people from HDI TH!NX / PROTH!NX) had to transform 320m² of empty space into an interactive hub for IIoT and Risk Management. In my role as Workshop & Experience Lead my responsibility was to shape the visitor experience for maximum satisfaction, synergy, topic-immersion and Business opportunities. This meant conceptual work, but also hands-on: Space design, user-centricity and lot's of Engineering & Teamwork to get things done until the opening.
The campus features six areas, including a showcase of IIoT milestones, a Smart Home demo, and an interactive game illustrating Industrial IoT. The Engineering Lab highlighted IIoT device fabrication and functioned as a hands-on workshop, while another space focused on Risk Management applications with self-built product demos from industry partners. The event hub, designed for keynotes with up to 100 attendees.
What I like about product demos is that they turn complex services into something tangible and interactive. Building them is a creative challenge with many stakeholders, balancing technical accuracy and simplicity.
Leak360 by PROTH!NX helps to prevent water damage and conserve resources. It is a real-time water management and leak detection system designed to help users monitor and optimize water consumption while providing automated leak protection. It offers real-time data visualization and alerts via a digital dashboard, enabling quick responses to potential issues.
This demo creates a real water leakage at the push of a button, triggering the system in real time. Two monitors display and explain the end-to-end process, making the technology accessible to a diverse audience on the Campus. A pump system was integrated that created leaks and triggered the system's response in real-time. Together with a software developer and a video designer, the videos were created and triggered with a Raspberry Pi. The final version was housed in a rugged, transportable case, making it easy to showcase at national and potentially international exhibitions.
This was a combination of a 60+ people event for a public audience and a requirements workshop with our business partners Turbit and HDI Global, in order to implement AI solutions in the monitoring of wind parks for preventive maintenance and risk management.
The requirements workshop brought all stakeholders together and built a common understanding. By the end of the session, we had a comprehensive roadmap with well-defined next steps.
"Amidst heated debates and diverse viewpoints, a remarkable atmosphere of the will to achieve something together emerged. This workshop vividly demonstrated how different perspectives can lead to innovative and sustainable solutions."
I grew up in a peaceful little town in the south of Germany and studied physics in Munich. It is great to understand the world and why the sky is blue. But it was a bit nerdy, so I became an engineer. I like the challenges of engineering: they are clear, and in the end you have something that works. But who sets the requirements? Exactly this is where engineers have to understand humans - and they are not good at it. So I moved to Berlin to study Design Thinking: to learn about team dynamics and collaboration, and to work on the challenges of people with user-centric design. Now I see myself at the interception between the user and the dev team.
