Meet the Team: Petra Schulzer
Meet Petra, who joined MicroTau in 2023 as a manufacturing intern and set about the small task of understanding and then improving upon our highly novel photolithographic manufacturing processes that underpin our end-to-end product offering. Now a Manufacturing Systems Associate, she has turned her attention to designing and building the systems that are scaling our production towards global impact.
Image: Petra explores China with appropriate PPE
Tell us about your journey at MicroTau. What was your first role, and how did you get to where you are today?
My journey at MicroTau began as a manufacturing intern in 2023. When I first joined, my primary goal was to get a deep, hands-on understanding of our unique manufacturing processes. From there, my role was to help analyze each system and find opportunities for improvement, with a focus on increasing both production yield and throughput. Over the next year and a half, while still studying my mechanical and mechatronics degree, I took on more responsibility and progressed into my current role as an Associate Systems Manufacturing Engineer. My current role focuses on the challenge of scaling up our entire manufacturing system to prepare for wide-scale production.
What do you do in your spare time?
When the weather is good, I love to be outside sailing dinghy boats or fishing. I also have a very active border collie, so we spend a lot of time on long walks or working on new tricks. When I'm indoors, I'm an avid gamer, particularly online strategic team games. I really enjoy the collaborative and problem-solving side of them.
Image: The doctor will see you now
What's been most exciting to work on lately?
The most exciting thing for me has definitely been scaling up our manufacturing processes to meet future demand. It's given me the opportunity to do a deep dive and really understand the ins-and-outs of our current processes, and then use that knowledge to find new and innovative ways to improve them. I'm really enjoying researching and designing automated systems as it's always a complex and rewarding problem to solve.
Tell us about the cool stuff you get to do as part of your role?
For me, the coolest part of my job is without a doubt seeing my designs go from an idea on paper all the way to real-life application on the manufacturing floor. It's an incredible process to not only come up with a concept but then be able to physically build and test it myself. I also really enjoy gaining statistical data on new equipment to actually quantify its capability. It always feels like magic when the statistics confirm that my design is feasible and has a measurable, positive impact.
Image: Petra - not fragile
What's your crowning achievement at MicroTau?
My crowning achievement has been successfully implementing new manufacturing equipment, all while still completing my engineering degree. Having the opportunity and the trust to take on that level of responsibility, and then seeing my work make a measurable difference to the company, has been incredibly rewarding. It has proved to me that I can deliver real value as an emerging engineer which will only continue after I graduate.
