Meet Steffen Belgardt, Head of Solution Engineering Management for Hitachi Rail in Germany.

As a highly experienced system engineering manager, his role combines technical understanding and management skills. Steffen’s priority is to understand the customer’s needs, processes and value chain for Hitachi Rail’s large signalling projects across Europe.

In a recent interview, we talked to him about his 17-year career in the rail industry. Over the years, he has progressed from his first position as a Computer Science graduate student apprentice to senior management.

Read on for some great insights into the world of train signalling systems, project management and the importance of a strong technical foundation.

Steffen, what does your everyday job look like as Head of Solution Engineering Management?

Every rail project is built with several systems which need to ‘talk’ to each other harmoniously.

From safety systems to wayside to passenger information systems there are several individual pieces of technology which work together. As the head of the department, my job is to ensure smooth integration all systems, ensure we are complying with the customer’s needs and hand over the project so that the trains can be put into service.

This means that I work with various solution teams that handle the systems. Each team has its unique expertise – from telecoms to electrical to mechanical engineering.

It seems like your job requires a lot of people management skills as well as strong technical background so that you understand all the systems and integrations.

Technical challenges can only be solved if the right experts work together as a team.

My approach is to bring the team together to understand where the challenges are and to use people's strengths. I find the right experts to discuss a given project and make an analysis. One of my strengths is stakeholder management. I involve the right stakeholders at the right level with the right level of information.

And yes, my strong technical foundation helps gain respect of my team and is the essential knowledge needed to understand how to integrate various systems.

You started off as a computer science student apprentice and over 2 decades gathered strong technical expertise in rail signalling systems management. Can you explain your career journey in this context?

I started off as an apprentice for Alcatel's telecom products – so that was my introduction to the world of communication technology. When I joined Thales, I was offered a product training opportunity within the rail signalling domain thanks to my exposure to telecom products. Over the years I handled large signalling projects that involved product training.

The way I gained product training expertise was by joining testing projects – where I had to observe and gain the technical knowledge and then transfer the knowledge into training manuals which I prepared. My philosophy while creating training manuals has been to think like an end user and to simplify the complex parts – so that the end users will easily understand new systems.

Then to convert that knowledge to large cohorts, I set up large scale training programmes - including an event in Denmark for 1,000 of our customer’s employees.

When working on our ETCS signalling project for Dänische Staatsbahnen (DSB) in Denmark, my team had to manage the design, technical integration of human factors and synchronise different systems. With my background in our systems and a great team of experts, I could quickly establish the system engineering and integration that was needed to deliver to our customer and start the first ETCS L2 operation in Denmark.

At the end of this project, I was offered a role in system engineering management within Thales, Germany.

What do you attribute your career success to and any advice for young graduates and engineers who aspire to join the rail sector?

I think the rail sector is one of the most exciting sectors. When I started 20 years ago I did not know much about rail sector or about the direction that my career would go in. But over the years I have been fascinated by the impact the sector has on society, the way legacy systems work alongside latest technologies and the large scale of the projects.

I also believe that my job as a teenager in my father’s hospitality business introduced me to some essential people skills.

The acquisition of Thales GTS by Hitachi Rail happened recently, 9000 employees including yourself joined the business. How has it been since then and what is the general sentiment?

I was so pleased when the final step of acquisition happened, it was much anticipated. We were provided with a warm welcome and comprehensive introduction materials. I am amazed by the history of Hitachi and the vision and values of the founder.

We feel that we are part of the huge Hitachi family. Personally, I am impressed by the Hitachi group, and the companies that it partners with, it helps us be more technologically advanced.

My team in Germany will continue to work together on our current project for the Digital Node in Stuttgart which is a prestigious project that will change the landscape of the region. It is an exciting time to be part of the team!