My name is Christina, and I am pursuing a Master’s in Electrical and Digital Systems at Aalto University. This year, I got a summer job at Murata Finland’s Application Engineering team.

I’m fascinated by how humans interpret abstract physical phenomena and turn that understanding into technology. I’m especially interested in technology that directly improves people’s lives, which is why biological and medical applications appeal to me.

I recently took a course in embedded systems development, where we designed and developed embedded software for a hiking watch. I thoroughly enjoyed the project which encouraged me to apply for embedded systems summer positions. Murata happened to have a suitable position open for the summer, and I decided to apply because the company was already familiar to me from university job fairs. I also have a friend who has been working here for several years, and he shared his positive experiences with me.

I am in the Application Engineering team, which is part of the Business Development department. This means I get to work with new and unreleased products and help develop possible applications for them. My tasks consist mainly of embedded software and algorithm development, and over the summer I have been working on a demo that may be displayed at future expos. The project also happens to tie well with my interest in biotech, as it involves measurements related to the human body.

What I enjoy the most is having one main project that I get to develop from the ground up. This has allowed me to have more control over the implementation process, which gives me a strong sense of ownership. The nature of the project makes it easy to see what I have contributed, and it is exciting to know that something I have worked on may eventually be presented publicly. In addition, the work environment has also been very pleasant. I get along well with my team, and everyone has been supportive throughout the summer.

Though my work mainly revolves around coding and product development, I also interact with product managers. To my surprise, I have learned not only technical skills, but also how the company operates when responding to customer inquiries. This has given me a better understanding of both Murata’s internal processes and how customer feedback is handled.

Working with semiconductors is a vast field. Even within Murata, there are people working in ASIC design, failure analysis, quality control, the list goes on. Because of that, I would suggest looking into what kind of work or problems interest you most within the field. Once you find a niche you enjoy, there are many different directions you can take. It is also quite common for people to move between teams, so the path you start on does not necessarily determine your entire trajectory.

Christina Zhou
Summer Trainee, Application Engineering