Careers at PSI Knitting has the same workflows as a software project

Yes, I have an Instagram blog called @made.by.lota. I started small with knitting scarves to relax. It is like meditation for me! Knitting has the same work stages as a software project: You need to find a customer, analyze their needs, define a product with them, make a design, start knitting, check whether it fits and adjust. What is most important is that the customer likes to wear the sweater. The same challenge you have with a software system. More complex products allure me now.

Lota my size is M – just in case you plan to knit a warm pullover for me during my sails . . .

I was born near the Black Sea in a city called Rostov-on-Don in Russia. It has perfect climate for delicious fruits and vegetables: hot summers (temperature reaching 40°C), and cool winters (-15°C). 

When I was still a child, my mother married a German and we moved to Cologne, Germany.

I know you play the piano very well. Was the musical career ever on your agenda?

My mother is a pianist and piano teacher. I play piano as well, but she always told me: “You can do anything you like, but do not become a musician.” She thought it is too difficult to earn a living with music. 

In school, I liked mathematics the most, so I followed my mother’s advice and chose it as my major at RWTH Aachen. Aachen is a beautiful, small, international city at the border with Belgium and the Netherlands, and RWTH is a leading university for science in Germany. 

Do you play piano currently?

Yes sometimes I play for relaxation. I love to play four hands with my mother. Of course, since she is a professional, I play the simpler part. We once had an act in a Philharmonic hall.

I learnt about PSI at the “RWTH Aachen Bonding” job fair in 2013. The big, international customers, the complex optimization tasks and the project-oriented work impressed me.

I had written my diploma thesis on discreet optimization, which made the PSImetals planning software a good fit. I got the chance to work for PSI Metals in Brussels for one year to familiarize myself with the planning tools and then moved to Berlin afterwards. 

Which PSI office do you prefer: Brussels or Berlin?

Ah! It’s almost like asking a mother which child does she like the most. 

The office in Brussels is nice and small, located at the outskirts of the city and next to the Neuhaus chocolate factory. You can easily go for a jog in the nature surrounding the office. 

Berlin, on the other hand, has the biggest office of PSI in the very center of the city, surrounded by hundreds of pubs, bars and with a vibrant atmosphere.

In both offices, I enjoy the working atmosphere with a mix of experienced and young colleagues from different countries. 

Yes, I like to organize and communicate with people. The job is exciting to me: in the beginning, you see numerous open points and challenges. After days of sitting down together with the customer – eventually, it clicks! I see the big picture, understand and recognize where to go.

Do the customer follow you?

Not immediately. Sometimes the discussions are quite challenging. I recognize that the customers have their own role, their experience and needs. It is important to me to build a good relationship with the customer. If you drink a beer together in the evening and connect on the human side, it helps to solve the project challenges. Since we usually spend many days working intensively together, it is important to have fun together as well.

Do you have some words about PSI?

I am glad that with Myriam Mensing and Julie Clements we now have two female members in the “Strategy Committee” – the top management group of PSI Metals. As a woman, I feel confident with the acceptance of each other in our company and feel like we are moving in the right direction.

We are currently hiring many young people and investing in our new colleagues. We know that in future, we will gain a large benefit from the younger generation, integrated and groomed by the more experienced ones. 

I met my husband Marco for the first time at the RWTH Aachen. Some years later, we met again and I am very thankful that he moved to Berlin for me. Marco proposed, in a cozy and private atmosphere. 

We had to perform our wedding ceremony following COVID-19 regulations. It was a wonderful party with 50 people, which turned out to be just right for us. 

I fear Marco does not play piano and neither does he like knitting?

You are right. We like to kayak together though. Berlin and the surrounding areas have many lakes and channels. It is marvelous to travel with a boat and sleep in a tent next to the lake. I hope we can do a holiday kayak trip in the countryside next to one of my customers one day.

Lota, thank you very much. My best regards to your mother. I am sure she is proud of the way her daughter turned out. I hope you have a nice kayak trip with Marco next year and I hope I do not freeze on my sailing trips.