Interview with Matthias Salzberger

Insight into the world of a product owner and team leader

Hello Matthias, thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. Tell us about your professional career. How did you get your current job?

Matthias: I successfully completed my training as an IT specialist for application development at the IT school in Plattling. During my internship at CSP, I worked intensively on a development project for testing torque wrenches in accordance with ISO 6789:2017. I then spent almost three years gaining valuable experience in After Sales at QST, working both nationally and internationally in countries such as Sweden, England, the USA and Mexico with our major automotive customers. Due to my performance, I was given the opportunity to take over the team management of PG. Later, I was also given responsibility for the QST Service Team, which was made possible by internal restructuring and new appointments.

What motivates you in your work and how do you prepare for new challenges?

Matthias: I am driven by continuous development and the pursuit of new knowledge. Although I inform myself intensively in advance, the real challenge often only comes to light in practice.

What challenges have you faced in your position and how did you deal with them?

Matthias: Especially at the beginning, I had to face many new topics and responsibilities that were previously unknown to me. However, thanks to the support of my colleagues and internal and external training, I was able to familiarize myself quickly and perform my role effectively.

How do you organize teamwork and what tools do you use?

Matthias: Our teamwork is based on daily updates (dailies), whether in the home office via Teams or as a stand-up in the office. We use effective organizational tools such as Jira and Confluence to make our projects transparent and share information efficiently. We also maintain an open Teams channel for overarching topics and mutual support.

What is your management philosophy and how do you support your team?

Matthias: I believe in an open feedback culture in which every employee has the opportunity to express their opinion and give constructive feedback. As a manager, I see myself as a supporter who solves problems and promotes the individual development of my team members in order to achieve our company goals together.

What are your goals in Service and how do you achieve them?

Matthias: In service, my focus is on customer satisfaction. Through clear communication and transparency, we continuously strive to successfully implement our projects and constantly increase the satisfaction of our customers in support.

What special achievements and project successes have you had in your career?

Matthias: My successes include a major contract with a leading manufacturer of rail vehicles for quality assurance in the production of rail vehicles. In addition, my team and I successfully introduced a quality management system at an automotive manufacturer and implemented process improvements at a company in the field of switching technology for reworking. Of course, this is just a small selection of the many projects that we have already successfully implemented together as a team.

Matthias, thank you very much for this inspiring interview and for the insights into your impressive professional career.