Vivienne Jaehn-Kreibaum

I am currently participating in an exchange program in Greenland. Here I am completing a minor in Civil Engineering. In a few months, I will be joining the Augmented Reality (AR) Research team at Facebook Reality Labs (FRL), otherwise known as Oculus, to design future AR products. Based on my past experience, and the job description, my day to day will include the following activities.

During the day, I meet with other engineers on the team to coordinate, plan, and discuss milestones for the team and department. Since my role is geared towards prototyping new products, I spend my days combining design work using computer-aided design (CAD) programs and then building devices in the lab. This involves using a lot of specializing equipment to design, build, and test electronic devices.  Some of these tools and devices are CAD software, soldering irons, power supplies, reflow ovens, oscilloscopes, and multimeters.

When I am designing and building electronic devices, I draw upon several skills from my training. These include circuit analysis, electromagnetics, calculus and differential equations, linear algebra, computer programming, heat transfer, mechanics, digital logic systems, power electronics, and all of my engineering design courses.

Building any electronic device has built in problems to solve. For example, having to power a wireless and energy-intensive device with very limited space for batteries and a limited budget. Another example is having to include several sensors and communication modules on the same circuit board without having them interfere with each other. Engineers also have to consider challenges related to manufacturing and supply chain as well. We have to make sure that parts can be manufactured with high yields, and be easy to obtain and repair if needed. Working in a multidisciplinary and cross-cultural team also means that we have to navigate social problems and be able to communicate effectively with team members to solve disputes and differences of opinion.

I think my background in the Integrated Engineering really prepared me for a role like this. I have taken courses in all engineering disciplines and worked with a variety of engineers on design projects. As a result, I find that I am able to communicate with engineers from different backgrounds and disciplines. I am able to visualize how their systems interact with mine. I have also lived and worked abroad in very different cultures, so I am used to culture shock and differences of viewpoints.