Krakul Team: Uncovered is a series of blog posts helping you understand who are the people behind Krakul.

Let’s get to know Jaan Viru, Krakul’s software lead, and partner.

Programming electronic devices is just one part of creating various IoT and autonomous platform solutions. The other side revolves around writing the software that makes it all run. That’s where having a software expert is essential. This is precisely what Jaan Viru brings on our table. He’s a partner of the firm who ensures that our software solutions are on top of the latter.

Jaan Viru has worked in the field of electronics for over 11 years. His career got started by working on the first Estonian satellite called ESTCube-1 for five years. Before joining Krakul, he also established a space technology company called Crystalspace and worked in the space engineering faculty of the Delft University of Technology. He also has a master’s degree in computer science and a bachelor’s in physics, both from the University of Tartu.

As follows, here’s a short interview with Jaan Viru in which he better describes his role at Krakul, as well as how he helps our team build the best software solutions for our clients.

What does Jaan Viru do at Krakul?

I help others decipher their own work and think about which problem to solve first. For example, a client might have a business or technological problem that I help to interpret.

I’m also the link between our clients and the development team, helping to formulate the tasks of our software department. Meanwhile, I occasionally contribute to the development myself as well. In addition, I help our people grow and develop.

What does Jaan’s workday look like?

I step into our office in the morning, drink coffee, talk with colleagues, and ask if someone is facing any difficulties with their work. Much of my work is about interacting with people.

In the second half of the day, I delve into our client’s problems, research new technologies, make quotes, and do other things that require more concentration. In the case of larger projects, I have to break down the solution into manageable pieces and make sure that everyone is up to speed with the development plan.

What does Jaan Viru like the most about his job?

I like dealing with modern technologies, solving exciting technical challenges, and interacting with people. In our daily work, we get to work with a wide range of solutions in the fields of IoT, aerospace, automotive and defence sectors.

What are some of the biggest challenges in Jaan’s job?

Technological problems, on the one hand, and social challenges on the other.  By putting together different personality types, you can create new things together that you would not be able to do on your own, but from time to time, there is also confusion. My role is to ensure that people get along well.

What skills does Jaan’s job require?

Communication skills, a deep understanding of the technologies we work with, and also, the ability to continuously learn new things. We have new projects coming up at all times, so I have to be ready to acquire new information fast.

At the same time, I also need to do a lot of analytical thinking to justify why and how we need to do different things. While making sure that others could understand it all.

Why did Jaan Viru choose to study electronics?

I wanted to study space systems at MIT, but didn’t get in there. So my other option was to study physics. Luckily, I got to explore space systems while working with ESTCube-1.

Why would Jaan Viru recommend studying electronics?

We have a lot of high-level companies in Estonia that create world-class devices – such as Milrem Robotics and Starship Technologies. Many exciting things will happen in this area in the near future – robots, stand-alone systems, in addition to IoT.  And when it comes to electronics, then there are also mechanics and hardware, firmware, software, cloud technology, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. The whole field is full of great possibilities.

This article was first published at elektroonik.ee home page: https://elektroonik.estonianelectronics.eu/krakuli-insener/

 

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