Kalle Malmiala: Building partnership in defence engineering

Kalle Malmiala's career at Etteplan has moved in step with one growing partnership: the one between Etteplan and Patria. Kalle has recently taken on a new role as Department Manager for Etteplan's newly established Defence Competence Centre. The centre deepens cooperation between Etteplan and Patria, supporting vehicle engineering, variant development, and documentation to strengthen Patria's delivery capability. As Department Manager, Kalle splits his time between hiring, leading, and developing the mechanical engineering team.

Kalle's path to his current role started in Lahti, where he spent about five years in project management and customer-facing work. From there, he moved into an Area Manager position in Hämeenlinna, which he applied for and got. His current Department Manager role followed as the natural next step, since he was already working closely with Patria and knew them well.

What fascinates Kalle about working in the defence industry is the stable outlook, the growth, and the great products he gets to work with every day.

"With Patria, it's more of a partnership than anything else. We're just one team," Kalle says. "Patria has great products, and there's a lot of growth right now, with more orders coming, so we scale up together as demand grows.”

It's that shared commitment Kalle values most.

"The most meaningful part is when a customer tells you what they're struggling with, and you get to help solve it," he says.

Kalle says he uses AI daily and is still learning where it can support his day-to-day tasks. It's been especially useful for development work, like ramp-ups and building out training programs.

“AI will definitely become more widely used in design work too, with more assisting roles, like helping with modeling or checking drawings,” Kalle says.

Kalle says he pays close attention to working hours and recovery time, both his own and his team's. He describes himself as quick to react if he notices someone's days starting to stretch too long. His own managers have done the same for him, noticing when his own workload was building up and working out together how to lighten it.

"Recovery time is the most important thing. People need something in their life besides work," he says.

Outside work, Kalle recovers by working with his hands: home renovation and carpentry projects, tinkering with mechanical cars, motorcycles, and pretty much any kind of equipment he can get his hands on. His other constant is audiobooks.

"I put my earbuds in and let an audiobook run, and everything else disappears," he says. With a commute of just over half an hour, that time lets him close out the workday and shift into what he calls his civilian life.

Asked what he would tell someone weighing a job at Etteplan, Kalle keeps it plain.

"Etteplan is a good employer, and people are genuinely taken care of here," he says.

The Patria partnership means a growing Defence Competence Centre, with deep in-house expertise and strong onboarding.

"New employees are welcomed here, and no one is left on their own. We have good training programs and support structures that help people get up to speed," he says.