From BMW to SEAONICS

He had a job as an engineer in one of the big automotive companies, a cool car and a beautiful wife that he shared interests. But then the outdoor recreation in the mountains called, and he moved to become a specialist at Seaonics.

A boy´s dream: A BMW… and a PhD

Dénes grew up in a small village between Leipzig and Berlin in Germany. Impressed and affected by his grandfather who has been engineer, and his growing interest in technology, he decided to become an engineer as well. Dénes got lucky. By doing military service in the German Navy, he got the opportunity to do mechanical engineering studies.

It´s a boy´s dream to work with car brands like Porsche, Daimler, Audi, Volkswagen and of course BMW. In Germany the automotive industry is one of the leading mechanical businesses, and as an engineer a unique opportunity to learn and grow. He did his PhD at work at BMW´s headquarters in Munich in collaboration with University of Leoben, Austria.

The call from the mountains

Dénes and his wife, Stefanie, used every opportunity to explore the outdoors. After eight years in Munich, they wanted more mountain experiences by tenting, snowboarding, hiking and MC-driving. One summer they travelled through Fjord Norway in 16 days by car, roof tent and hiking shoes. The landscape put a spell on them, and the dream of moving to Norway began.

"After that trip, we kept asking ourselves: where can we live close to mountains?" Dénes recalls. "We spent the next year and a half planning our move. We decided that if one of us got a chance in Norway, we'd take it."

From cars to cranes and gangways

"The principles remain the same, but the scale is completely different," Dénes smiles. At SEAONICS, he's applying his precision engineering to massive maritime structures. "Instead of calculating engine or chassis components, I'm working on 32-meter gangways and cranes. The best part? I get to see my calculations come to life much faster here."

The transition from automotive to maritime technology proved surprisingly smooth. Working with a smaller, specialized team means faster development cycles and more direct impact. "It's impressive how we develop, test, and manufacture these huge steel structures with such a tight-knit team."

True Norwegian worklife

The cultural shift was as significant as the technical one. "In Germany, we had 40,000 colleagues in Munich alone. Here, we're a small team where everyone knows each other," Dénes explains.

Coffee culture quickly revealed another big difference between German and Norwegian engineering.

"In Munich, coffee was fuel for deadlines. Here, it's the heart of collaboration - and Norwegians definitely set new standards for daily coffee consumption!"

Between coffee breaks and project meetings, he found a work culture where smiles persist despite project pressure, and problem-solving happens faster than the coffee machine can brew the next round.

Engineer with a view

Today, Dénes combines his engineering expertise with the lifestyle he and Stefanie dreamed of. Weekends are spent hiking local mountains, snowboarding, or exploring fjords on their motorcycle. "Sometimes I'm calculating over 50t steel structures  in the morning and hiking a wonderfull mountain, like Levandehornet, in the afternoon. That wasn't possible in Munich!"

The move from BMW to SEAONICS wasn't just a career change – it was a life change.

"BMW gave me the foundation and opportunities to chase this dream. SEAONICS made it reality - with smaller teams, bigger structures, and the best office view an engineer could ask for."

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