Global Employee Interviews - Engineering
Meet the NSK engineers creating the technology of the future
My team and I strive to become the best engineers we can be, searching for innovative solutions to overcome challenges and meet customer needs.
Automotive Bearings
NSK Americas
As an applications engineer, I work directly with automotive customers to find the best technical solution possible for their specific application. I provide technical support from initial contact through the production process, helping our customers with any technical issues they may encounter.
While I have over five years of experience in this field, I joined NSK last year and am still in the learning phase. Application engineering is a very broad field, and each company has a drastically different approach to the profession. While I still have a great deal to learn about the automotive industry, I am enjoying the opportunity to apply my knowledge in a field that is undergoing rapid change with the shift toward electric vehicles.
NSK has been great about providing me with the support I need in this new environment. On top of the hands-on training I receive daily, the company allows me to attend external classes and seminars to absorb any additional knowledge and skills I may need. I also have access to the accumulated knowledge within my immediate workplace. The people I work with are all experts in the field, and everyone is willing to share their knowledge and experience. I ask many questions and my team is always ready to listen and provide their input. When I am stuck on a problem, they give me the guidance and feedback I need to move forward.
For now, I’m focused on becoming the best engineer I can be and work closely with my team to find innovative solutions to problems. NSK has a strong tradition of research and development and invests heavily in employees to give them the knowledge they need to lead the organization forward.
With so many opportunities for growth, NSK has proven an exceptional start to my career.
NSK Europe
My first experience with NSK came through a four-week internship in the Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) Department as part of my degree in Computer Science. The CAE team was very welcoming, gave me a wealth of advice and mentorship, and appreciated my contribution in programming a prototype for a graphical user interface (GUI) to improve the user-friendliness of a software the team was developing. This experience drove my decision to pursue a career at NSK due to the opportunities to apply my skills in a versatile manner to solve challenges, plus the great colleagues.
Today I support the business units by using my programming skills to automate and improve our processes. For example, I automated an internal reporting process that allows the approval flow to be initiated with a single click, remind approvers, and automatically generate entries in a database used for calculating our KPIs. Furthermore, members from our respective business units reach out to me to write scripts in Python to automate our operations.
NSK has constantly supported my development throughout my career. I have had the opportunity to do an internship at a group company that develops condition monitoring technology, where I not only learned a new programming language but also further developed my skills in software and GUI development. My team has also encouraged me to broaden my area of responsibility by coordinating and working with colleagues across Europe and the global NSK network. My future goal is to move into a senior position as I love to constantly expand my knowledge and face challenging tasks to develop myself further.
NSK is a global company that unites people from different cultures and backgrounds to work toward a single vision.
We treat people like family, not just another number on a page.
The playing field is wide open and the sky is the limit when it comes to career development and growth.
Industrial Machinery Bearing Technology Department
NSK China
I joined NSK fresh out of university back in 2008. Right away I was sent on a year-long training assignment to NSK’s technology hub in Japan where I received the technical knowledge base I would need for my career. Prior to the assignment, I received Japanese language training and a practical orientation on life in Japan.
I came back from Japan ready to immerse myself in R&D for railcar bearings. The Chinese government was heavily investing in railway infrastructure, and the industry was booming. Train speeds had made massive leaps and were pushing upwards of 350 km/h. Customer orders for bearings to support the expansion were higher than ever, and the industry was craving for technical product improvements. As train speeds continue to rise even today, clients require reliable bearings that can withstand higher rotation speeds and generate less heat. Challenging requirements and use environment call for impressive feats of engineering. That’s where my solid foundation in NSK core technologies allows me to make significant contributions to my team. Our efforts to develop superior products allows us to compete in this rapidly expanding market.
In 2018, NSK recognized my efforts by promoting me to senior engineer, which provided me with chance to develop a wider range of product knowledge, and then in 2021, I was promoted to be the director of Industrial Machinery Bearing Technology Department in China. This transition has been a big challenge for me, as I’ve been put in charge of managing other engineers. But the company has been great about supporting me in this transition as well, enrolling me in a leadership program to help me sharpen my skills in management.
I’ve been provided with so many opportunities for growth at NSK. Just like the market we find ourselves in, the playing field is wide open here and there’s so much potential for where you can go.
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