From a master thesis to tomorrow’s manufacturing

Dominik Huber, our Head of Unit Upstream Manufacturing in Vienna, has built his entire, senior-level career with Boehringer Ingelheim. 

 As a student of Biotechnology at the University of Technology Graz in Austria, I dreamed of working in a biopharmaceutical company. Boehringer Ingelheim is a well-established and renowned biopharmaceutical company in Austria, so I applied for a master thesis at Boehringer Ingelheim RCV. Luckily, I was accepted, moved from Graz to Vienna, and completed my thesis. Over those nine months, I got to know the company and decided to apply for a permanent job after my studies. I started as Process Engineer Upstream, responsible for the transfer and implementation of biopharmaceutical production processes at the newly built large-scale production facility in Vienna. Later, I got the chance to lead a production unit there and became Head of Unit Upstream Manufacturing.  

People and processes 

My job involves managing and coordinating a biopharmaceutical multi-product production unit with highly automated process equipment. I’m responsible for an intercultural team, including managing the recruitment as well as organizational structure and development of the team. My team supports interfaces with international clients and different internal teams, driving decision making. We ae responsible for ensuring flexible, effective GMP manufacturing while meeting the demands of best practice, regulations, specifications, and the supply chain. I also represent the production unit in internal and external audits. 

A palette of possibilities 

Since I’ve only ever worked at Boehringer Ingelheim, I can’t really compare it to the culture at any other business. But what I can tell you is how much I have come to value the broad palette of possibilities that I have found in this single company!

The future of production

This is a newly built large-scale production facility, so there are a lot of exciting things to come. In the next years, new products will be reaching the market, made in our facility following Good Manufacturing Practice. Each product has its own characteristics and will need its own equipment, automation processes and production parameters. Seeing the lifecycle of a product from first transfer runs to commercial runs - and finally saving people’s lives! - is a very special experience. My next task is to establish a production team to deliver high quality products for the markets. A unit is only as good as its team members. 

What’s the best thing about working for Boehringer Ingelheim?

In my opinion, it’s the combination of a history as family-owned company with a state-of-the-art biopharmaceutical business. Why? Because you have the advantages of a family-owned company but also the chance to develop yourself in a fast-paced environment. What’s particularly special about Boehringer Ingelheim RCV is that all areas including research, development, quality, operations and all the supporting functions are together on one site. That means you know all your colleagues, and you can talk to them while you grab a coffee.