Manuel Mayr 

Dr. Manuel Mayr moved to Germany from Northern Italy to study Computer Science eighteen years ago and after finishing a PhD and working at IBM, he is now at the SAP head office in Walldorf as a Senior Developer.

"After my graduation in 2013, I joined IBM and I was lucky to be part of a team that cooperated with SAP on a joint project. During this time, I had the opportunity to work together with many SAP employees and I found them, and the projects they were working on, very inspiring.

I enjoy working in the SAP office because I enjoy connecting and having fruitful discussions with my colleagues. Unfortunately, circumstances in 2020 required us to work remotely. While this was challenging in the beginning, our team did a wonderful job overcoming those initial obstacles with virtual social gatherings and with supporting each other in those testing times.

The team I am part of builds an information system that allows you to store vast amounts of data and query itin real time. More specifically, if you compare the information system to a car, I am working on superseding the legacy engine (or rather “engines” in case of SAP HANA) with a modern engine that is not only more powerful but additionally more economic. What excites me most is the constant learning that is required to stay abreast with the fast-paced world of technology.

Even after more than twenty years, I still relish programming. I am glad that I can devote a huge portion of my working time to do exactly that. Thereby, I consider programming to be more than just writing a piece of code that performs a certain task. The aspects of performance and quality are of great importance for demanding systems being developed at SAP. This is especially true for a Database Execution Engine that is being developed by the team I am part of. Another considerable part of my work involves technical discussions with my colleagues, code reviews and from time to time some bug hunting – nobody is perfect.

One of the aspects I find most inspiring is that with my work I have a huge impact on how a considerable range of SAP’s products and services are perceived by our customers. Since the database system (platform) we are developing serves as the backbone for a substantial amount of SAP’s product portfolio, I have the feeling that my work is appreciated as an integral part of our company’s success.

I am fortunate to be part of a team of like-minded people who are extremely passionate about their work. I strongly believe that the diligence and relentless pursuit to achieve the best possible results of our team also sparks my desire to perform at my best.

SAP nurtures a culture of pulling together to achieve a common goal. I strongly believe that this is what makes us both competitive and flexible at the same time. SAP really cares about their employees and that work of every individual is appreciated. In such a big company it is easy to feel lost and underappreciated, but SAP is doing an exceptional work to convey that our work really matters and that everyone is more than just a gear in well-oiled machine.

I am a strong believer in equality of opportunity. I believe that as company, as well as a society, we can only benefit from giving people the opportunity to do what they love regardless of their differences. Within a thriving environment, differences typically dissolve under the aspect of achieving acommon goal.

When I am not programming, I enjoy entertaining both my mind and my body. I enjoy reading and learning (especially math) as much as going to the gym and pushing myself to the limit of what I am capable of. Pursuing those seemingly opposite things keeps me balanced, focused and eventually also helps me to perform at my best day after day. And after all, there only a few things more satisfying than relaxing with friends after a strenuous workout. Besides training in the gym, I also enjoy cycling and winter sports – typical for someone who was born in the mountains!"