What does an electrical engineer do? Part 3: Product manager for image processing

People with this profession work on

• The development of new products in the field of image processing, e.g. for self-driving cars, self-sufficient industrial plants, intelligent camera applications in smartphones and in medical technology.

Image processing is a branch of computer science and signal processing that deals with the automatic analysis, processing and interpretation of images. It encompasses a variety of techniques and algorithms that aim to extract information from digital or analogue images, understand it and make sense of it. In the field of image processing, it is clear that engineers in electrical engineering and computer science work closely together. Signal processing is an important branch of electrical engineering. A signal is a mathematical representation of information. Signals can occur in various forms, including image, audio, voice, video or data streams. The main goal of signal processing is to extract useful information from signals, reduce noise, enhance signals or transform them into another form so that a human or other device can interpret them.

People in this profession are responsible for

• The customer-orientated implementation of innovative image processing products

Customer-orientation? Isn't that something for business students? Customer-orientation is also important in engineering because customer satisfaction brings competitive advantages. By listening to customers and understanding their problems with existing products, innovative solutions and sustainable new products can be created. By incorporating customer feedback, engineers can identify weak points and take targeted measures for improvement.

What people in this profession should not do wrong

• Initiating expensive product development when the product is not needed

Product development can be very time-consuming, costly and resource-intensive. It is then particularly annoying if a product is developed that nobody needs afterwards and that cannot be sold. To prevent this, customer orientation is part of the development process for new products right from the start.

Without people with this profession, we would have problems in these areas

• Image processing is a central component of digitalisation and without product managers, there would be no meaningful market-oriented products

One example: audio and speech processing. In audio technology, signal processing is used to edit, compress and encode audio signals or to remove echo and background noise. In speech processing, speech signals are analysed in order to convert them into text (speech recognition) or vice versa (speech synthesis). To ensure that you have a functioning Alexa on your desk, many product managers have thought in advance about how you as a customer could use Alexa afterwards and what is important on the part of the technology to make it work.

The work of people in this profession will be particularly important in the future because

• image processing is a central component of digitalisation and therefore forward-looking for all areas of society

You think it's all about Snapchat and Instagram? In medicine, image processing is indispensable for X-rays, MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), CT (computed tomography) and ultrasound. In industrial manufacturing, image processing is used to carry out quality checks, automate production processes, detect errors and perform sorting or measuring tasks. Image processing is used in modern vehicles, for example to recognise traffic signs, enable autonomous driving and support the driver in various tasks. And augmented reality can do much more than filters and snaps. For example, it can help you visualise new furniture in your room before you buy it or determine your exact shoe size for a pair of trainers. This avoids return shipments and therefore unnecessary traffic and waste.

Significant social achievement(s) that we humans have to thank for this profession

• Automated enclosures in production, smartphone cameras, cameras in cars for parking assistance, automatic emergency braking and much more

What is particularly exciting or attractive about this profession

• You can work independently
• Creativity, contact and dialogue with people
• Affinity for technology

The great thing about self-determined work is that you have more control over your working methods and time. You can make your own decisions, work flexibly and have the opportunity to fully utilise your skills and creativity. The opposite is a highly regulated working environment in which decisions and work processes are dictated by others. However, this is rather rare in the engineering sector.

The less pleasant aspects of this profession

• High time pressure: Product developers often work to tight schedules in order to bring products to market quickly
• Setbacks and failures: Not every product will be successful, and setbacks or failures can be frustrating, especially after investing a lot of time and effort.
• Team dynamics: Working with different teams and sections can sometimes be complex and lead to conflicts or communication problems.

These 5 soft skills are particularly important

• Communication skills
• Organisational skills
• Team spirit
• creativity
• Problem-solving orientation
• Sense of responsibility

Necessary know-how and hard skills

• Programming
• Maths
• Communications engineering
• Sensor technology
• Business administration

Does communications engineering sound like your grandad tinkering with the radio to you? Yes, but communications engineering is much more than that. It is generally about the development and application of technologies and systems for communication via various media. These can be wired and wireless networks (your network and wifi at home), fibre optics (the line that brings the internet to you), satellites (your 5G on your mobile phone and GPS for Google Maps) but also contactless payment in the supermarket and your grandpa's radio.

Work-life balance

• High workload: often
• Need to work at the weekend: never or rarely
• Business trips: frequently
• Need to be available outside working hours: rather rare
• Flexible working hours: often
• Working from home: often

Average gross annual salary in €

• Approx. 85000 EUR

You can expect +/- € 4600 per month in your account.

Product developers and managers often work in companies and industries that rely heavily on innovation and the introduction of new products. Companies are willing to pay higher salaries to well-qualified and talented product developers in order to gain a competitive advantage through innovative products.

What is the typical route into this profession?

• Study electrical engineering specialising in information and communication technology

Information and communication technology (ICT) is an area of electrical engineering that generally deals with the acquisition, processing, transmission, storage and exchange of information using computers and communication systems. This includes technologies such as computer hardware and software, telecommunication systems, network technologies, the internet, mobile devices, databases and various applications that enable the utilisation of information and communication.

What career prospects does the profession offer?

• Senior management
• Teaching and coaching

Product developers who stand out for their strong performance, strategic thinking and convincing professional results often attract the interest of management. Due to their high customer and market orientation, they often have a good knowledge of business administration and have a lot of experience in their own industry.

The profession in 5 hashtags

#super exciting #creative #communicative #future #digital #KI