Johan Karlsson: The diverse life of a Test Engineer

Johan Karlsson works as a Test Engineer for the Engineering Analysis team in Linköping. “Engineering analysis is a focus area at Etteplan that is growing quickly, and we are always looking to hire new engineers with the same values and ambitions as us”, Johan says, “There is a lot of work going into improving the cooperation with our engineers at Etteplan, both between our offices in Sweden and internationally. If one office has too much analysis work to do, another office will step in and share the workload”, Johan explains.

“One of the advantages of working as a consultant is the extra layer of assistance that I can get from my colleagues at Etteplan. If I run into a problem, there is always a colleague who has encountered something similar and can offer some help. Sometimes all that is needed is a fellow engineer who I can discuss the problem with.” Johan says. Some team members are specialized in specific areas of engineering analysis like ‘composite materials’ while others are working on a wider range of tasks. In Johan’s case, he started his Etteplan career with an assignment doing structural calculations for the aerospace industry. Since then, he has transferred into working as a test engineer for agricultural products.

“Working with testing is much more practical and hands on compared to calculations. It suits me very well to get my hands dirty and test different solutions.”

Johan thinks that his experience from working with calculations has been extremely helpful while testing because the test results are actually used as the basis for the calculations.

The variation between the different assignments is what Johan likes the most about his job. As a test engineer, Johan spends his working time at his desk, in the workshop and in the field - conducting tests. “When I graduated, I never expected to be driving tractors for a living”, Johan says and laughs.

The testing department Johan is working at is quite small, so he gets to test all aspects of their products. One day the focus may be on structural testing and the next there might be a hydraulic problem that needs to be fixed, which means that Johan must be quick to adapt. The classic definition of an engineer as a ‘problem solver’ really applies to Johan’s work where anything can happen.

In his free time Johan enjoys riding his mountain bike. “Maybe it’s fixing and maintaining the bike that is the most fun”, he says and laughs again. Johan thinks riding trails in the forest is one of the most fun forms of exercise and being outside, in nature, is always good in his opinion. Another interest Johan has is music, which he likes to combine with his interest in technology by working as a sound engineer occasionally. A sound engineer uses a lot of cables to connect microphones and speakers, similarly to how test engineers connect sensors for tests. “Another thing that I really like about working at Etteplan is that technology is often a big part of what I do – similarly to my spare time.”