A career built in industry

Janne earned his MSc in Electrical Engineering from Helsinki University of Technology and has spent the past twenty years working in the semiconductor industry. Over the course of his career, he has worked on applications ranging from automotive technology to human health.

“My early professional path was forged through a series of coincidences,” Janne says. “When I was young, I was entertaining the idea of a career in the military, but ended up choosing engineering. Nokia was doing well at the time, and there was a lot happening in the field.”

After completing his degree, Janne considered pursuing a PhD. Instead, he found himself drawn to the industry side of engineering.

“I enjoyed the scale and the high stakes – a constant focus on speed, quality, and reliability of delivery.” he says.

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From semiconductors to quantum

During his career, Janne has worked in both large corporations and smaller companies. He came to SemiQon without direct experience in quantum, but with exitement about a field that has so much promise.

“I have 20 years of experience in the semiconductor industry and MEMS manufacturing,” he says. “In 2024, Rockley Photonics had just shut down its UK site, and I was actively scouting interesting companies in Finland when I got in touch with SemiQon.”

While quantum technology itself was new, the role matched what Janne enjoys most.

“I feel lucky because my position at SemiQon matches what I enjoy the most,” he says. “I sometimes jokingly say that I fear my physicist colleagues want to discuss entanglement with me, but honestly speaking, I enjoy the constant learning and believe that my industry background is a valuable addition to the team.”

With quantum computing still in its early stages, Janne sees value in combining different kinds of expertise.

“It is rare to combine deep knowledge of quantum with extensive experience in fabrication, quality standards, outsourcing, and other aspects of manufacturing,” he says. “I’m happy to add a different angle to the expertise at SemiQon.”

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What matters at work

For Janne, the most important qualities in his work are curiosity, accuracy, and a willingness to learn.

“In my opinion, the most important qualities are curiosity, accuracy, and the desire to learn new things and advance technology,” he says. “Mastering the specifics of quantum technology can happen along the way with support from the team.”

He describes SemiQon with a single word.

“To me, pioneering means boldly exploring new innovations and ideas,” he says. “We know where we want to go, but we don’t yet know the entire path. The key is having the courage to move forward even with many unknowns along the way.”

When asked about moments that have made him proud at SemiQon, Janne reflects on what brings him the most joy at work.

“The moments that make me proud or happy often aren’t my own accomplishments,” he says. “It gives me joy to see my team members succeed at tasks, big or small.”

He also mentions the importance of external validation.

“When SemiQon received an important EIC funding, I had little to do with securing it,” he says. “But it was exciting to see that others have that faith in the work we do.”

Janne values the continuous learning that comes with the role.

“It is easy to lose motivation if you hit a plateau with your work,” he says. “Here, I can’t see that happening. There is always the next new thing to master.”

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Outside of work

Outside of work, Janne stays active throughout the year.

“During the winter, skiing. During the summer, cycling,” he says.

He recently got a new road bike through SemiQon’s employee bike benefit and will be taking part in Tour de Chips, a cycling event organized by the Finnish semiconductor industry.

“The route goes from one Finnish semiconductor city to another, totaling nearly 700 kilometers,” he says. “Over four days, we will ride from Oulu to Tampere and finally finish in Otaniemi. I’ll be proudly representing SemiQon.”

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Qurious to join a team of Qurious minds? Information about our open positions and how to apply is available on our careers page.

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