Meet our newest team members Maria and Werner, who both joined us this spring. Maria has several years of experience in Business Administration and enriches the team with her knowledge. As for Werner, who has a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering and is very passionate about modern IT tools. Learn more about them in the interview!
Have fun!
Maria, what do you do at craftworks, and in what circumstances would I come to you for something?
I am responsible for Business Administration, which includes organizational and administrative activities. Furthermore, I am in charge of invoice allocation and accounting.
Werner, can you also tell me about your position at craftworks?
I am working as a Technical Project Manager. I am responsible for organizing existing and new projects. More to say, I’m mainly responsible for bi-directional communication between our customers and the project team so that our developed solutions meet the needs of our customers.
Maria, what led you to this career, and did your expectations about craftworks came true?
Daniela (Head of People) told me about the open position at craftworks and she told me about the great values of craftworks and the positive team spirit. The values such as the open learning culture are really lived out and processes are much more flexible than in bigger companies so my expectations were definitely met.
Werner, What do you like most about craftworks compared to other companies?
I like that there is an open feedback culture, the team is very motivated and everyone is treating each other with esteem.
Maria, What does your typical day at craftworks look like?
The days are usually very different and that is what I really like about my job. I regularly check the stocks, the needs of the team, or snacks. What is more, I also do accounting every week as well as the billing. Depending on the circumstances of what is happening I am responsible for different tasks.
Werner, as you have a PhD I would be interested to get more information about your educational career?
I studied chemical engineering at TU Wien and wrote my Masters’s Thesis in Sweden/ Göteborg at Chalmers. After that, I decided to work in a research project at TU Wien in order to do my Ph.D. Together with a very good team, I worked on climate and energy issues, to be specific: How to utilize the natural gas infrastructure to transport large quantities of hydrogen. The main question was how to efficiently extract high-quality hydrogen from the natural gas grid.
Maria, when and how did you decide to work in this area?
My past positions have led me to my present position. In my last position, I used to do various tasks like billing, marketing, events, and training business so I really like the variety of different topics.
Werner, how do you prefer to start your day?
I start my day with a good coffee (in both offices we have excellent coffee!), then I check my emails and continue with the to-dos from the day before.
I would like to move on with some personal questions about yourselves. Maria, you already told me that you have been to many remote cities and places, that’s why I wanted to ask you which place you would like to visit one day, where you haven’t been before? And I would also like to know your favorite place on the earth?
I would like to visit New Zealand very soon because of its beautiful nature. Hawaii was one of the best trips I have ever had. There we have been to two islands and we were impressed by the amazing flora and fauna. Although Hawaii is in the middle of the ocean, you can still see the American influence.
Werner, you have already told me that you play indoor volleyball in a club and that you are also in the Viennese national league in Vienna. I would like to know what else you like to do in your free time?
Whenever possible I like to travel, otherwise, I love to be in the mountains and depending on the season I do some climbing, hiking or skiing. Other than that as you already mentioned, I like to play volleyball and beach volleyball.
Maria, what’s one thing most people don’t know about you?
Well maybe if people get to know me better they soon realize that I have a weakness for good cheese.
Werner, what’s the best advice you were ever given? How do you keep developing your professional skills?
No matter how much you know you never know everything, there is always someone who knows more. You have to be open to learning new things from other people. Various channels, conversations with friends, newspaper articles, and social media help me to develop further.
Maria, what movie have you seen recently and would you prefer to watch it?
Hidden Figures: the story of a team of female African-American mathematicians who served a vital role in NASA during the early years of the moon space program.
Which craftworks value is most important to you?
Maria: Team spirit and respect, these are for me the basic requirements for all other values to work. Werner: Also Team spirit and respect but lifelong learning too.
Now I will ask each one of you three short questions:
Maria
If you were the only human left on Earth, what would you do?
Going out and enjoying the clear air.
Which season is your favourite?
Autumn.
What three words would your friends use to describe you?
warm, reliable and spontaneous
Werner
If you could choose a superpower, what would it be?
time-traveling
Are you a coffee person or tea person?
Coffee.
Which sport do you like most?
Skiing.
Thank you to Maria and Werner!
Thank you for reading our interviews!