Rasmus Krigslund
Title: Team Lead
Education: M.Sc. In Electrical Engineering and a Ph.D. in Wireless Communication
What’s your name and your role / what do you work with?
My name is Rasmus Krigslund, and I am Team Lead for the team developing Kamstrup’s smart meter data concentrators.
Can you describe your career path so far?
A fellow Ph.D. student was doing an industrial Ph.D. with Kamstrup, and through him I became aware of the key role of wireless communication in smart metering, and how much emphasis Kamstrup had, and still has, on this domain.
Having defended my thesis, I applied to Kamstrup and started as an embedded software developer. I had very limited experience with programming on embedded devices, so for me this was a very steep learning curve. One could probably argue that I suffered a bit from imposters syndrome those years. I really fell ill equipped, but it gave me a good understanding of the challenges involved with embedded programming. I never really mastered the craft though. Luckily for me - and for Kamstrup, I guess - I got the opportunity to shift into a role as specialist in wireless communication, where the tasks were centered around theoretical analysis and research. This were a much better fit to the set of competences I brought with me from my time in academia. I stayed in this role for 9 years, and gradually gained understanding of more and more domains, and how they interact, within Kamstrup.
Sometimes a minor change in one domain can make a huge positive impact in another. Chasing this general overview and investigating such synergies I find highly motivating and enables us to change the way we work and collaborate. This ultimately spurred my interest in leadership, so I did not hesitate when I was asked if I wanted the vacant position as team lead for the concentrator team.
What motivates me by working at Kamstrup
At Kamstrup we have a strong culture with great colleagues that truly care about each other. For as long as I can remember there has been a focus on happiness at work - It is something we give to each other, and ideally, we should all be energized at work and leave with more energy than we came with in the morning. I think this is a great ambition, and often, this is actually possible, for me at least. It is essential that we all thrive in our roles, and at Kamstrup there is room for personal development, and plenty of opportunities for transitioning into new roles if one’s interests shift over time. My own career in Kamstrup is an example of exactly that.
The best thing about my job
I get to work with topics I am really excited about, together with some extremely talented and dedicated colleagues. Moreover, the job is flexible enough for me to fit it perfectly around my private life and prioritize time with my family in the afternoons.
Hobbies and activities that I am passionate about
I have always been fond of the outdoors and having a job where I spend the better part of a day in front of a screen, spending time outdoors outside of work has become more and more important to me.
I have been a boy scout my entire childhood and youth, so when our own kids got old enough, I convinced them to become scouts as well. I also decided to volunteer in the local group and fairly quickly realized how much I had missed that environment. Today I am heading the local group and help ensure there are the right framework to make great outdoor experiences for today’s children and young people, like those I got myself as a child.
In my spare time at home, I like to work with my hands, so I have renovated our entire house myself and always have some project to attend. Right now, I am building a greenhouse from scratch. For me, this kind of work is de-stressing, as the progress you make becomes very concrete and directly visible each day - The same cannot always be said for my tasks at Kamstrup - If I hadn't become an engineer, I would probably have become a carpenter.
Fun fact
Our five-year-old daughter turns to me, not my wife, when she needs her nails polished. Apparently, I am better at that!