Meet Marcus, Software Engineer and Cybersecurity Satellite – and road cyclist

What is your role at Axis?

I have several roles at Axis with my primary one being a software engineer within the Bodyworn Embedded team. This team itself is split into two pseudo groups – one working with the wearable cameras while the other focuses on the system controller and communication with the various Evidenced Management Systems (EMS’s). I am part of the camera team and work primarily with C code and closer to the Linux kernel.

Another important role I hold is as a Cybersecurity Satellite for Bodyworn Embedded. Axis takes cybersecurity very seriously and has a dedicated security team which includes over 75 “Satellites” – Software Engineers who act as the eyes, ears, and voice of the Software Security Group (SSG) across the company. In a nutshell, my role as a satellite is to coach and educate my team on how to write secure code by following the Axis Security Development Model. I have also been involved with cybersecurity at Axis for some years before the SSG group was formed.

What is your favorite part of the job?

My favorite part of the job is being able to sit down and code! Hashing out a design for a module or subsystem with a few colleagues and then implementing it. It is seldom that I get a full day to code though; a typical day for me will involve quite a few meetings, a lot of code review and helping others in my team.

What makes Axis stand out?

Having remained at Axis for the best part of 16 years, I do genuinely believe that Axis is a great employer who looks after their staff. Most importantly, they make it possible to achieve a healthy work-life balance. We have a strong corporate culture with clear core values, a big emphasis on socializing (Friday fika for example) and so many ways that make it a great place to work. I appreciate that we have access to a changing room with lockers and showers, so I can commute to work on my road bike. Flexible working hours allow me to manage daycare pickups and over the years Axis have put on some fantastic parties! One of the best things about my job is the travel opportunities I have had through Axis and working with a competent and engaged team.

What can a new employee expect when they join Axis?

It feels so long since I was a new employee – but I’m sure a lot depends on the team. Axis is a welcoming and inclusive workspace where people are easy to talk to at all levels. When I began at Axis, we had roughly 370 employees in Lund, so it was much easier to “just walk over to Tech and talk to that guy”. Axis has strived to keep the “Always Open” approach, but with around 5000 employees it is impossible to know everyone. I would say in R&D we follow a “engineer first” mentality where management tends to listen to the engineers, and in my experience, quality is generally favored over deadlines.

What has your career journey at Axis looked like?

When I arrived in Sweden two days before Midsummer in 2008, I had no Swedish language skills and was straight out of university. Axis took a chance on me, and it paid off for both of us. The manager of my original team saw the importance of being able to speak Swedish. We held all the meetings in Swedish, which was a particularly good motivation to learn the language. It also made it much easier to fully integrate into the work culture. I think it is important to embrace the Swedish culture and language even if the corporate language at Axis is English. Axis offers free courses in Swedish for employees in Sweden who want to learn.

I started in Products and Services which was a great way to work with many different products and code bases. Through this team I was able to work across different departments and had opportunities to work with core tech, travel to America, China, Japan and even Africa as part of a volunteer project that Axis initiated to help a girl’s school in Tanzania! As mentioned, I have been involved in security work for many years of my time here.

In 2019 I moved to the newly formed Body Worn team and we worked intensely to launch the first wearable camera system from Axis.

What’s your ideal day off?

I would have to say a warm (but not too hot!) summer day in Skåne (the southernmost county of Sweden) with clear blue skies, little wind and being able to get out for a long (100+km) ride on my Cervélo. Ideally with company, but riding solo is OK too. Otherwise, a day out with the family is equally rewarding.

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Want to join the team? Have a look at out open positions.