I am driven by development, and I need to thrive

Anton Johansson is a university engineer at heart and currently works as a vehicle manager consultant for one of Knightec’s primary international vehicle and transport customers. The focus is on defense-adapted vehicles. The work is mainly done remotely.

“Satellite teams for us are when we work with a customer and have customer assignments that are not physically or geographically located in the place we are in,” he says. “We are in the customer’s system but not in the customer’s office. My team is in Örnsköldsvik and Umeå, but the customer is 550 km from here. Why we did that in Örnsköldsvik was simply about competence. We have the required experience and vehicle knowledge, and then a satellite team was a very efficient and correct solution for the assignment.”

He came to Knightec six years ago. A colleague’s paternity leaves opened up the possibility.

“I started drawing stickers with a customer several years ago, right after my degree. I had gotten to know Knightec a bit in the team, and when the colleague was on maternity leave, I was asked to take the job during his leave. It felt like they saw me for who I was, committed, and wanted to move forward, and suddenly the chance was there—a great opportunity for me and a challenge to grow into a new role and in the team. The feeling of having a close-knit team with helping hands was crucial for me to dare to take the role. Nothing I regret today.” says Anton.

Six years have passed since Anton came to Knightec. Then as of now, he sees many benefits and opportunities of working in a satellite team. A significant advantage is not being geographically locked.

“There are such great opportunities with satellite assignments, and we could take on any large customer and any assignment where our expertise is needed,” he says.

“Another important advantage for me as an employee is to work with a large international and exciting customer but not have to compromise on where and how you want it outside of work, without being able to live and work in a slightly smaller town.”

Anton’s team is a close-knit group of experts who work closely with customers with daily reconciliations and meetings.

“Our satellite assignment consists of the entire chain. We work on everything from idea sketches to production groups that manufacture and deliver a product. We also test documents and verify that the solution solves the problem for the customer. My role is to keep the project together. I make sure that everything works and flows. It will be a bit of everything possible, from project management and documentation to 3-D modeling and making sure that everything happens at the right time for delivery and that time frames are kept.” tells Anton.

As part of the working method, it is crucial to have an understanding and insight into the customer assignment and that the consultants have a feeling to work with something that becomes a reality. It provides motivation. As a good example, some consultants in Anton’s assignment have taken truck cards as a way to get to know the product better. Something Anton sees as a great advantage.

“It’s really fun to see reality and what you work with. The truck driver’s license was one step closer to the product. We work with so much more than just the driver environment. It is fun to see the product you work with and understand the challenges the assignment will solve.” mean Anton.

Understanding and insight into the customer assignment are crucial for doing a good job, but the structure and good cooperation are also essential factors in creating a functioning team.

“We have found our way to structure and community digitally. The reconciliations and the community are the cornerstones for us to do an excellent job and, at the same time, have fun together.

It is not the case either-or, or we have a mix of distance work and place. Sometimes we need to be on-site at the customer physically, and with good planning, we always manage to find activities outside and after work. Everything from dinners to city walks and climbing walls or paddles has been everything. It is usually intense and prolonged days on-site at the customer. Still, inspiring, educational, and rewarding as well, as a reward to see the reality of the customer and that what you work with later in the assignment will be an essential solution to what was initially a challenge or problem. I am driven by development, I must thrive, and I do that here. It’s so much fun.” concludes Anton.