ams OSRAM is a global leader in optical solutions. The semiconductor company has more than 22,000 employees around the world – and an important office at High Tech Campus Eindhoven with about 50 specialists.
ams OSRAM has a vast product and technology portfolio for sensing, illumination and visualization: from prime-quality light emitters and optical components to micro-modules, light sensors, ICs and related software. The team of deep-engineering experts is designing impactful optical innovations that make journeys safer, medical diagnosis more accurate and daily communication a richer experience.
Its ability to generate data makes optical technology a prerequisite for the data driven society and a key technology for responding to major societal challenges. “Our business is based on bringing together the physical and the digital world,” says Edwin Zuidema, strategy and marketing lead for one of ams OSRAM’s business units and based at High Tech Campus Eindhoven. “Sometimes you want to get something out of the digital world and show it to people, and sometimes you want to capture information from our real world, process it and make it accessible for digital use. The smart environment is where the analog information in the world is also accessible in a digital way.”
ams OSRAM combines years of expertise in lighting and sensing technology. “Our unique expertise in emitting, directing, sensing and processing light, paired with our deep system and application understanding, makes us the partner of choice for many industries.” said Edwin. “Optical solutions are very complex and having all this expertise in-house is an advantage many other companies don't have,” says Zuidema.
The company’s vision is to become the world leader in optical solutions. ams OSRAM works with high-profile customers in the automotive, consumer, industrial and medical industries who demand leading-edge innovation in semiconductor components and solutions.
“For the automotive industry, the number of sensors in cars is significantly increasing with trends like electrification and autonomous driving,” said Zuidema. ams OSRAM’s automotive business designs smart sensors that capture the vehicle’s environment over short and long distances. The team has also designed solutions for in-cabin sensing such as driver monitoring and vehicle occupancy. They lead to a safer driving experience, whether that is monitoring if the driver is paying attention or whether there is a child in the seat when an airbag deploys. In addition, ams OSRAM provides LED lighting for the exterior and interior of cars and other vehicles.
The company is also active in the medical market, with miniaturized solutions such as extremely tiny cameras for endoscopy or the new photon counting for medical X-ray. Other examples are optical components and modules in smartwatches to monitor heart rate. “Our highly precise emitter and sensor technologies can measure different parameters, such as blood pressure and skin hydration,” says Zuidema. “Did you drink enough? That's the next thing. Our vision is that in two or three years, your watch can tell you whether you're hydrated enough.”
The Brainport region office has various roles, from engineering, finance and sales to product marketing and management. “Employees in Eindhoven have the opportunity to work globally from this location. On a daily basis you could be working with other European offices, Asia or the Americas,” Zuidema said. He enjoys the global work environment and strongly believes in the advantages of working from an office. “I have very few direct colleagues here, but it is always great to hear from people what they are working on. It inspires me a lot. Coffee machine conversations are the glue of a company. Sometimes you are breaking silos at the coffee machine or even when having lunch with a former colleague. That's this HTC office. You talk with people that you typically do not talk to. You hear things and you think, ‘Ah, this is interesting.’ It is truly a great place to work,” said Zuidema.