| Written by Mark Buzinkay
October is ending and I talked to Mark about life in Austria and at IDENTEC SOLUTIONS. In a sentence: Gardening with his family is as rewarding as designing complex hardware.
Mark B.: hey Mark! Great to have you here and talk about your career and life. As I know, you live very close to our headquarters, right?
Mark M.: Yes. I live in Lustenau, about 10 minutes cycle from the company. I can cycle every day and go home for lunch, as it’s so close. Lustenau is a quiet, safe and happy place. I can stop on the way home for a swim or a game of tennis.
Mark B.: How did you „end up“ in Lustenau? I know that you studied at the University of Bath (England).
Mark M.: yes, I moved to Austria with only a suitcase, straight after studying Electrical and Electronics Engineering, not really knowing where Vorarlberg was… for a job in integrated optics research in 2002. After the company switched their focus, I moved on and started to follow my core competence closer and start with electronics hardware design. This evolved into concentrating on PCB design and has now further developed into mechanical integration of my PCBs into housing enclosures, which I help design. I started at IDENTEC SOLUTIONS in 2011.
Mark B.: You are primarily a PCB designer?
Mark M.: I do electronics design for all of our hardware products. From research to electronics schematics and PCB design, along with some mechanical integration. I like our iPoint product the most.
Mark B.: What are the best parts about your job?
Mark M.: From a work side, I would say, the satisfaction of receiving a working prototype of something I designed and seeing how everything fits together and eventually being sold and having an important and useful application with our customers. From the personal side, it is the very international team, with competent colleagues from many different parts of the world.
Mark B.: Do you have a guiding principle at work and what is the most rewarding part of your job?
Mark M.: To take the time to design a good product, trying to add innovative functionality and design from the beginning. The most rewarding part? Holding a functional, good-looking product in my hand, that I helped design.
Mark B.: As you know, we have 5 core company values at IDENTEC SOLUTIONS – Visionary, Open, Responsible, Leading and Global. Which one is for you the most significant and how do you live it?
Mark M.: I believe it is very important for me to be visionary. When starting on a new product, always propose new chips, sensors or technologies that will improve our products’ functionality or save battery life. Having the vision to look what is happening in the future and prepare for it, so that our customers have the best possible product.
Mark B.: What do you do in your free time – besides following Andy Murray’s tennis game on TV?
Mark M.: In my free time, I spend time with my family and enjoy swimming, hiking and gardening together. I also love to cycle everywhere and play tennis as much as I can.
Mark B.: As you live in Lustenau, what is the weirdest word in Lustenaurish (a strong dialect in Vorarlberg/Austria)?
Mark M.: Gadoladolelo (laughs). I don’t know how to spell it, but the small contraptions that hold the window shutters open I think….
Mark B.: Thank you for your time and your insights, Mark, and all the best!
Mark M.: Thank you, you’re Welcome!