"DAF is a major international company and has been in business for quite a few years. But the software departments are relatively young and you notice that", Erik says. "Your opinion is valued here and you can expand your knowledge." Hubert works in the same team as Erik, they are both responsible for the software used in the PACCAR engines. Hubert agrees that people's personal contributions are appreciated: "You quickly find out that certain processes can be improved. You draw up a proposal, discuss the matter and ensure that the process is modified. If you see that something has to be done or changed and you point this out, they give you the opportunity to do so. You can really provide added value with the improvements you make and the processes you optimize."

Model-driven development
The work and the challenges you have to deal with in the Embedded Engineering department are diverse. "You're not going to spend all day at your desk bashing out code", Luuk explains. Luuk is a software engineer and works in the team that is responsible for the vehicle software. "A lot of consultation and design is involved, following the principle of model-driven development. Using this method, we aim to align our processes as much as possible with internal and external parties." Hubert adds: "I think we spend about 20–30% of our time on the actual software; the remaining time is used for design, internal coordination, as well as for communication with suppliers."

Creating opportunities yourself                
The three young men enjoy working at DAF and feel that the atmosphere and dynamics are good. "The team is quite young, which means that you gain a lot of knowledge and experience in a short period of time," says Erik. In addition, there are plenty of development opportunities. "You learn every day, can grow and you are involved in the latest developments," indicates Luuk. "Moreover, colleagues know how to find me more and more with questions, compared to when I started working in this position and I also supervise interns." Erik and Hubert agree with this. "You get the confidence to take on more responsibility pretty quickly. You create your own opportunities for growth. For example, I didn't expect that within such a short time I would already be in the lead of several projects. That really gives you the feeling that you can contribute something to the organization," concludes Hubert.