3,500 engineering graduates set to join Bosch in India this year

In India, Bosch plans to recruit 3,500 university graduates, followed by 2,500 new hires in China and 2,100 new hires in Germany, this year. 

This is part of the component major’s plan to stay on its growth course which will see Bosch recruit around 14,000 university graduates worldwide this year. In the future, increasing numbers of software specialists will find jobs at the global supplier of technology and services.

“Connectivity through the internet of things is changing Bosch’s business – and consequently our personnel requirements – more than ever before,” says Christoph Kübel, member of the board of management and director of industrial relations of Robert Bosch GmbH. “Bosch is now a popular employer for specialists from the software and IT industries,” he adds. Almost every second vacancy at Bosch is related to IT or software. In particular, the need for software engineers for IT systems (e.g. web applications) and for embedded systems (e.g. sensor systems) is growing. A large number of Bosch associates are developing solutions for a connected world. “Software expertise is the key to the connected world,” Kübel says, announcing the staffing needs in the run-up to the IT expo CeBIT. At a regional level, the focus of new hires is on Asia-Pacific.

Digital transformation
Bosch says its strategic objective is to create solutions for connected mobility, connected industry, connected energy systems, and connected buildings. For some years now, it has been expanding its software expertise. As a result, new job profiles are being created, and cross-domain professional qualifications are becoming more important. The company currently employs more than 15,000 software engineers, and the numbers are set to grow. “Today’s Bosch is also a software company,” Kübel says. “University graduates with a degree in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and industrial engineering and who possess software expertise have excellent chances to start a career with us.” He adds that people with the reverse profile – namely business information technology experts and software engineers with expertise in the automotive or industrial technology sectors – are also sought-after. This is because solutions for things such as connected industry call for a synthesis of different kinds of expertise for creative problem-solving. But Bosch says it still requires specialists, both with and without a degree, in its traditional business fields as well.

Software expertise: shaping the connected world
At Bosch, associates such as the 45-year-old Dr. Lutz Bürkle are playing a significant role in shaping the connected world. Together with his colleagues, he is working on driver assistance systems that help prevent collisions with pedestrians. “With my work, I can contribute to greater road safety. My software knowledge helps me develop the necessary algorithms,” says Bürkle, who works as a project manager at the Bosch research campus in Renningen. His colleague Jayalakshmi Kedarisetti also sees the importance of software expertise in everyday working life. The 33-year-old engineer from India is conducting research on power electronics for electric vehicles. Power electronics convert the direct current provided by the battery into alternating current to drive the electric car’s motor. “Besides my electrical engineering expertise, I also need programming knowledge for my job in order to optimize power electronic components through simulation,” Kedarisetti explains. “It helps that I took courses in programming languages early on in my studies,” she adds. 

Active on all three levels of IoT
Specialists from internet and software companies are finding attractive fields of work at Bosch, as Bosch is the only company worldwide that is active on all three levels of the internet of things IIoT). The Bosch Group offers key technologies, such as sensors and software for connectivity, and at the same time develops new services based on these technological innovations. “In the end, every Bosch electronic product should be web-enabled,” the 35-year-old Lan Guo says, getting to the heart of the matter. Just last year, Lan Guo left her assignment as section head in quality management in Reutlingen to return to China, where she works at the Suzhou location. There, she and her teams are responsible for things such as rolling out production of the electronic control units that are used for automotive near-range cameras. “It opens up a lot of professional development opportunities for me, whether in hardware or software. In the medium to long term, I can even switch to another industry without leaving the company,” she says. In addition to the opportunity to change function or industry, the company supports different career paths. Associates can climb the career ladder moving within and between specialist, project, and leadership career paths.

Working like a start-up: creative freedom in a large company
The working environment is also an important consideration for many young professionals when choosing an employer. “For me, flat hierarchies are important, as is the opportunity to have a hand in shaping something new,” Dr. Kai Häussermann says. The 34-year-old senior software developer works on intelligent smart-home solutions at Bosch in Stuttgart-Vaihingen. The company announced just a few weeks ago that it is entering the smart-home market, and has established a subsidiary for this purpose. “The combination of the advantages of a large company and a start-up is the right mix for me. On the one hand, I have access to the expertise and processes of the parent company, while on the other I can make the most of the creative freedom the job offers,” Häussermann adds. 

Workplace design: telecommuting and social media
Bosch most recently began the process of expanding its 240,000 computer workstations with modern office software. The objective is to facilitate telecommuting with familiar social media applications that associates use in their personal lives. A flexible and family-friendly working culture also plays a key role in the working environment at Bosch. The company supports more than 100 working-time models and gives equal recognition to private and professional commitments. “I don’t spend my free time at work,” says Sule Dogan, section head in the Information Systems & Services corporate sector. The 36-year-old computer science engineer and mother of a small daughter works at the company’s location in Stuttgart-Feuerbach. “Depending on the project, there can be a lot to do, but even in such cases, I try to make it a point to honor the end of the work day. Ensuring a work-life balance is simply important,” she says.

“Let’s be remarkable,” says Bosch
Over the course of the year, Bosch says it will be presenting a new image of itself as an employer. In keeping with the guiding principle “Let’s be remarkable,” ad motifs boasting a fresh design will appear in print and online media, ad materials, and at trade show booths. The new image aims to use words and visual elements to place focus on the meaningful tasks at Bosch.

“Anyone who wants to improve quality of life will find the right job at Bosch,” says Daniela Huber, who is responsible for international HR marketing. “The thing that links all Bosch associates is their desire to leave their mark on the world with products that spark enthusiasm. This is what our new image conveys.” 

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