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The joy of solving challenges and bringing new ideas to life keeps Senior Development Engineer Petr Chmelicek alert in his job. Garrett is the perfect place to put his inventive mind to the test in a multitude of different ways.

In his 2 years with Garrett, Petr has overseen the creation of over 100 prototypes and, together with his team, has contributed to the development of the next generation of electric compressors for passenger vehicles.

“What I like the most at Garrett is seeing the product being developed from the first conceptual ideas all the way to start of production, and how different stages of the development cycle impact the way the product works and looks. It’s a feeling of fulfillment to see your work evolving through these different stages.”

Petr joined Garrett in 2019 after 10 years of working in automotive research and development in the United Kingdom. “In 2009, when I was studying for my master’s degree at the Brno University of Technology (Czech Republic), I was selected for an internship at a big engineering company in the UK.”

He says this first job gave him the perfect opportunity to discover his passion for developing new ideas. “At that time, in 2009, electrification in the automotive industry was already quite a big topic, and it seemed like an exciting new development for me, and I still find it interesting.”

Developing high tech technology from his hometown in Czech Republic

After 10 years of working as an electrification engineer in the UK, Petr decided to return to the Czech Republic. Garrett’s R&D facility in his hometown of Brno enabled Petr not only to return home but also to still carry on the exciting work he loved in vehicle electrification.

The Brno, Czech Republic, R&D center is one of Garrett’s five global research and development centers, and one of the largest vehicle electrification development hubs the company operates in Europe, alongside France and Germany.

>> Learn more about Garrett Electrification Center of Excellence.

I would say it was the technology that attracted me to Garrett, there is a lot of high-tech development happening in the company.”

“The work itself is quite dynamic and fast paced. There’s always a lot of things going on, which is very exciting for an engineer like myself. We are working on the development of new technologies in an almost start-up like environment, but we also have the backing of a large organization with a global reach and footprint.

Working at Garrett: freedom to create in an agile environment

“I would say that what is quite unique here is that everybody, including the most junior engineers, are encouraged to take ownership and responsibility for certain elements of our projects. That way they develop a great depth and breadth of experience and knowledge.”

“There are absolutely no boundaries in what we can or cannot do. We are always encouraged to expand our limit of responsibility,” continues Petr.

Collaboration and communication are very important in engineering, particularly when working in an international team, and Petr considers he gets the support he needs here both from his team and from other functions.

>> Meet our global team

“I’m surrounded by very knowledgeable, clever, and friendly people. The environment is very nice, and our equipment is pretty much state of the art. So, overall is a perfect combination between a friendly atmosphere, knowledgeable people, and exciting projects.”

Professional learnings: team work is crucial

Regarding career learnings, Petr says that an engineer’s ability to communicate with different people across the globe is an essential skill. “On every project I ever worked on, teamwork was crucial. You simply can’t do everything yourself; you need to collaborate with other people, and you need to be able to clearly communicate your thoughts.”

Petr advise any engineering student “get as much practical experience as possible and try to pull together as much technical and business knowledge you can.”

Visit Garrett’s Careers page to see how you can join our growing vehicle electrification team.

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