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Ahead of her speaking appearance at Microelectronics UK, on September 29-30 in London, Olga Rubešová, engineering manager at Eaton, talks about the changing technological landscape, and what it means for the current - and future - engineering workforce. 

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Tell me a bit about your career to date and your role and responsibilities at Eaton?

I joined Eaton in 2014 as a software engineer and have progressed into engineering leadership roles across embedded software, home automation, energy management and aerospace innovation. Today, I am a Software Engineering Manager and Principal Investigator for a government-funded aerospace project, where I combine people leadership, project management and overall technical leadership to deliver innovative solutions with a highly skilled multidisciplinary team

How are engineering teams changing, and potentially the role of the engineering manager?

Engineering teams are becoming increasingly multidisciplinary, with software, electronics, AI and data science working much more closely together. As an engineering manager, I need enough knowledge across these domains to connect experts effectively, while also translating technical innovation into business value through customer engagement and business case development.

How difficult is it to strike the right balance between adopting emerging technologies quickly and maintaining aerospace standards?

Innovation in aerospace is exciting, but it must be balanced with rigorous safety, reliability and certification requirements. In my experience, compliance and certification need to be considered from the very beginning of a project, otherwise even a technically strong solution may never become a deployable product.

How would you assess the opportunities and challenges that the future workforce faces?

Young engineers have access to more learning opportunities than ever before through internships, conferences and development programs, but at the same time junior positions are becoming harder to find. Success will require continuous learning, flexibility, critical thinking and the courage to create opportunities through personal projects, startups or other alternative paths.

What are the key business lessons that you have learned throughout your career and why?

One of the biggest lessons I have learned is that strong execution and business alignment are more important than having a great idea alone. Innovation only creates value when it addresses a real customer need, fits company priorities and is delivered at the right time, supported by critical thinking, adaptability and the confidence to challenge assumptions.

What message will you be looking to get across at Microelectronics UK and what are you looking forward to most at the event?

My key message is that the future of engineering lies at the intersection of software, electronics, AI and systems engineering. I'm looking forward to exchanging ideas with industry and academic leaders and discussing how we can accelerate innovation while maintaining the high standards expected in safety-critical industries.

Olga Rubešová is speaking in a session entitled 'Smart Cities: Embedded Intelligence for Urban Infrastructure.' Find out more and take a look at the full agenda by visiting here.