From heavy metal to system interplay
Heavy metal has been replaced by family life, a fulltime engineering job and some guitar strumming on the side. These days, Jon Anders thinks that his job take up too much time in his life. That is why he wants more people to join his team. People who share his interest in making complex systems manageable – the very essence behind the Systems Engineering method.
Jon Anders has a hardware background and is educated in electronics and sound design. For several years he worked at the Norwegian National Broadcasting Company (NRK), with sound and development of production and distribution systems. He was involved in facilitating large productions such as the Norwegian finals for the Eurovision Song Contest, but he wants to make it clear that it wasn’t the music which made that job fun and interesting.
“What motivates me in my job, no matter what I do, are the technical challenges and that we have to work together to solve problems,” he says. “It's really about how things should play together, and defining which parts of the system should solve which tasks.”
There is little evidence left that could reveal that this 41-year-old is a former heavy metal guitarist who sported long hair and all-black clothes with band logos on his t-shirt.
“I cut my hair off when my daughter was born,” says Jon Anders. “But the beard had to stay, cause none of the children have ever seen me without it,” he says and laughs out loud.
“Systems Engineering as a method is quite similar regardless of the industry you work in, but our products have extreme demands on quality and performance, and the systems are numerous and advanced. This complexity is what makes the job extra interesting and exciting.”
“Maybe it’s because there are many of us here who are so similar, and we are all engineers in our heads, but this is the best working environment I have ever been a part of.”
Broad professional expertise
The department he belongs to is growing rapidly, and today consists of more than 70 system engineers who support various projects and program areas within air, land and naval defence. Smaller, interdisciplinary teams that provide good dynamics and broad expertise.
“The professional level here is very high, and there is always challenges to be solved, and if you can't figure it out yourself, there’s always someone to ask for help,” he says. It is impossible for everyone to know everything, you must have the ability to familiarize yourself with new things and understand how everything is connected – to see the big picture.
For Jon Anders, it is the collaboration across disciplines and the opportunity to talk to people which gives meaning to his work. And of course the fact that he works with defence technology that contributes to national and international security. The products he contributes to develop have vital purposes and can never fail.
That is a big and meaningful responsibility.
