Moving from a start-up to a large pharma engineering company is not just a change of employer. It is a shift in mindset. For Thobias Aggerholm, Automation Engineer at NNE, it meant shifting from always being the one who defined the next step to gaining a deeper understanding of how complex systems, disciplines and people come together in large-scale pharma engineering projects. A journey where collaboration and structure become just as important as innovation.
With a background in advanced robotics technology, Thobias now focuses on one essential question: How do equipment and software work together to create a fully automated manufacturing facility? His work spans the entire automation process, from mapping flows and defining system steps to ensuring materials move correctly through different cleanliness classifications and into the final process.
That holistic perspective is something he has built gradually through curiosity, cross-disciplinary collaboration and a desire to understand how every piece fits into the bigger picture.
Before joining NNE, Thobias spent a year and a half building a start-up, developing an app based on business logic and algorithms to help companies optimise logistics and customer delivery. The experience gave him a strong sense of ownership and independence, but it also made him aware that something was missing.
“I realised that I was still missing a fundamental understanding of how large organisations actually work,” he says. “How decisions are made, how experts collaborate across disciplines and how really big projects are run. That is what drew me to NNE.”
What appealed to him was not scale for its own sake, but the opportunity to see how complex projects take shape through a network of specialists - each bringing their expertise to a shared goal.
“At NNE, you work with many different disciplines, each with deep expertise, on very large projects. There are a lot of highly experienced people that I want to learn from.”
That experience, however, also came with a personal shift.
“The biggest challenge for me was that I was used to always being the one who knew what the next step was. The driver. The lead,” he explains. “That wasn’t the case anymore when I joined NNE.”
In a highly cross-disciplinary environment, expertise is spread across many specialists. They speak different technical languages, are driven by different priorities and work towards shared, though not always identical, goals.
“Finding a way forward together, where everyone reaches the finish line, can sometimes be challenging. It is something you only really discover once you start working on cross-disciplinary projects.”
At first, that loss of control felt uncomfortable. Over time, it became a source of motivation.
“I have been able to draw a lot on practical learning, but also on my experienced colleagues. That feeling of frustration disappeared. It was replaced by eagerness to learn more.”
His interest in technology and innovation has remained constant throughout his career, with curiosity serving as a key driver.
“I am very curious, and when I encounter something new, it lights a fire in me. At the core, I think most of us are driven by creating value for others. We just express it differently. For me, it is through technology.”
At NNE, innovation carries a different meaning than it did during his time at university.
In academia, cutting-edge is often what is newest and barely out of research. At NNE, it is about which innovative solutions we can implement in our context and make work reliably and credibly.
Automation solutions must reduce project risk and ensure that customers’ products reach patients safely and efficiently.
“You cannot simply implement the newest technology if it has not been tested and validated. Instead, we set ambitious goals, assess the solutions available and implement them in the best possible way within the given framework.”
That balance between ambition and responsibility also creates space for continued learning.
Equally important important to Thobias is how people show up in their work.
“Integrity matters to me. People being honest and standing by what they say and promise.”
Earlier, working as a junior engineer in a senior team made him cautious.
“I held back at times. I did not want to say something wrong or something they already knew better.”
Over time, reflection and experience changed his approach.
“I realised that authenticity is very important to me. Daring to be myself, and to speak up even when I am not sure I am right. To challenge the status quo instead of just accepting existing processes.”
He has experienced that this mindset is not only accepted at NNE, but encouraged.
“When I have expressed my views and challenged existing practices, it has been met with open arms. Their openness and willingness to recognise strong idéas has created a constructive and encouraging environment.”
He believes that psychological safety is essential for growth.
“When you stop being yourself, you also fold inwards. You make yourself smaller. That is a negative spiral where confidence and motivation disappear.”
Development at NNE is not abstract. It happens in demanding situations, with the right support nearby.
“For me, growth is when you’re placed in situations where you discover your pressure points,” he says. “I have been able to spar with my manager about how to develop those points. Where I can gain and improve the most.”
Looking ahead, his ambition is to deepen his technical expertise.
“So far, I have worked a lot with the holistic picture of how systems interact. Going forward, I want to delve further into automation design, interfaces and their respective challenges.”
Outside work, that same drive to challenge himself plays out through programming, boxing, spinning and harbour swimming.
“I like to challenge myself physically. It is a mental game that helps me push through resistance.”
That endurance carries into his professional life.
My father used to say that anything we find challenging or do not do regularly, like washing the dishes, is a muscle you need to train. If you do not use it, you lose it.
At NNE, that muscle is built every day through curiosity, collaboration and the courage to challenge ourselves and each other.
For the engineers who are motivated by learning, authenticity, and making complex systems work together - NNE offers a place where growth emerges from genuine interest in what we do and the shared ambition to reach the best possible solutions.