“There is still a hint of start-up company culture left even after 13 years of operation.”
ICTOulu recently had the chance to chat with Toni Honkanen, VP of Technology at Aava. In his role, he is in charge of Aava HW R&D, IT and quality.
A leading name in connectivity
Aava is an established part of Oulu’s ICT ecosystem, having been founded in 2009. They specialise in industrial, semi-rugged mobile devices and their accessory design. Whilst the focus is on point of sales (PoS) use cases, their output is widely deployed many different sectors – logistics, hospitality, and various demanding professional uses.
2022 was significant for the company for several reasons. After the pandemic forced a switch to remote working, employees were able to return to their HQ in Oulu on a more regular basis. From a technology point-of-view, they have upgraded to 5G, as well as starting new platform projects that will be the base for their next generation of products. Additionally, it was their first full year under new owner Pepperl+Fuchs, which has led to healthy collaboration and opportunities to make the necessary investments and recruitment to fulfill their objectives.
Next year their work for new platforms will be realised as new products. Additionally, it is set to be a busy year full of testing, validation and ramp-up of operations.
Recruitment needs for 2023
Aava has a wide range of trainee openings available. In R&D, there are mechanics validation, SW and HW design and validation openings.
The content of the work depends on someone’s earlier experience, interests and where they are in their studies. There are a wide range of tasks available, so it’s important for applicants to highlight what they are most enthusiastic about so that Aava can propose relevant positions. The main target is to get highly motivated individuals, who would continue to work during their studies and eventually become part of their full-time staff.
More information on these positions are available on Aava’s website. You can also send an open application if you can’t find a position that exactly matches your profile. You can also check out their LinkedIn page for news of any positions that become available in the future.
All R&D trainees are working in mobile device projects as a part of project team. A mentor is nominated for all trainees who are familiarising themselves with the tasks that need to be completed. In the administration, the work can be participation for some improvement projects or support of daily work. The expectation for those that join is that they are open-minded, ambitious, and want to learn new things.