Modern cars have multimedia systems that are more and more capable of integrating more functions, and besides that, cars are more and more full of new digital technologies. Few of us could assume, however, when we operate the controls on a multimedia display or when we are fascinated by modern full LED matrix headlights, or possibly drive an electric car, that behind these final products on some automobiles there is a team from Moldova. It is a team of engineers and programmers, which operates as a subsidiary of a company in Romania, and because all services and products are delivered for export, to the parent company in Romania and to car manufacturers, the team here never advertises itself, and you can hear about it the most when hiring. We managed, however, to convince those from Moldova to open their doors to us and to explore more about what the team here does.
The team we are talking about is coagulated in a company called Arobs Moldova, a subsidiary of Arobs Romania, a company that has already become international, but which has its roots in Cluj, Romania. The team from Moldova is led by Mihai Gorgos and has a history of over 12 years of activity already. In total, over 120 engineers and programmers work in the offices in Chisinau, as he tells us, and usually about half of them work from home. It often happens that on the days when a programmer or engineer has to write lines of code, he prefers to do it from home, and then there are a few more days of physical testing of the products, and then he can come to the company headquarters and do these live testing with the team. Some tests are long-running, and once connected, the test systems produce scenarios and accumulate data over several days continuously.
What is being done, exactly, in Chisinau? Well, one of the basic specializations of the team from Moldova is deep programming, at the level of circuits and microelectronics, of multimedia systems for cars. So, it is not only about the software interface that the user sees, but about the microelectronic programming of the circuits, of the microprocessors, in order to reach the correct physical product. It is a very different type of programming, which involves programming what happens at the microprocessor and electrical circuit level when a new navigation route is activated in the multimedia system, for example, or when the phone is connected and something is played. on the phone.
Thus, I found on the tables of Moldovan engineers multimedia systems for future cars, which were programmed and tested, being connected to large modulators, which simulated the necessary currents on the one hand, but also the activation of all kinds of functions by the driver on the other part. And on current cars, already in production, there are dozens of such systems that went through similar programming and testing processes in Moldova or Romania a few years ago.
Another curious field, newer for those from Moldova, are full-LED matrix headlights. I caught in an engineer’s work area several large installations, which simulated the algorithms for connecting and disconnecting the LED components in a large lighthouse. Nowadays, full LED headlights are composed of either a few small LEDs or tens, hundreds or even thousands of LEDs that together form the final adjustable beam of light, and connecting or disconnecting them allows the formation of shadow cells in traffic , in order not to blind those in front and at the same time to have efficient lighting in all directions. Well, in Moldova exactly these algorithms are made, at the level of microprocessors, to adjust lighting combinations, in hundreds or thousands of possible combinations for headlights.
And the project I caught working comes from a car manufacturer that wanted to simplify the function of the full LED headlights for some of its models, so that they would ensure a similar end result, but with fewer LED components and thus directing them to require more basic microprocessors, at a time when there is still a shortage of advanced microprocessors.
And, by the way, there is a brand of cars that is also sold in Moldova, but which we are not allowed to divulge, and it is very likely that the dealer of that brand has not even the faintest idea that the LED headlights that will appear over 1-2 years on his cars now originate from the engineers in Chisinau!
The CEO of Arobs Moldova, Mihai Gorgos, also tells us that his team has more and more orders to work on electric motors for electric cars. He recalls that the last injector programming project for an internal combustion engine was several years ago, and it was an interesting project that involved programming all sorts of injector combinations, from pressure to opening times, for a combustion with maximum efficiency. Then, at some point, the manufacturer decided to close the project, announcing that it had stopped the development of internal combustion engines, and from now on only electric engine developments would follow. That was a turning point, Mihai Gorgos tells us, and he immediately decided to send some of the engineers and programmers from the team to exchange experience, in order to better grasp the specifics of electric motors for cars. It was a wise decision, because since then no orders have come for work on combustion engines, instead work is often done on electric cars.
And although it is said that everything is much simpler with electric motors, in fact there are also major challenges here and a lot of work of fine-tuning and programming at the level of microprocessors, which must be done, or, we all want like an electric car to start smoothly, imperceptibly, to accelerate just as smoothly and at the same time promptly when needed, to be efficient in transforming electrical energy into mechanical work, to regenerate efficiently. So, it’s a huge area of work, and working on such projects takes months of adjustments and testing, and sometimes the terms are counted in years. It is essential that the team from Moldova is aligned with these modern trends in the automotive world and works on them, thus ensuring its prospects for the future.
I asked Mihai Gorgos if he could also publicly disclose the salaries of the engineers and programmers in the team from Moldova, who work on such curious things in the automotive world. He hesitated a bit, then said that he had nothing to hide, because Arobs Moldova is a company that operates as an IT park, and that allowed him to substantially increase salaries in recent years. Experienced programmers and engineers, who have already been with the company for several years, have completely mastered the work processes and are already at their expected yield, receive net salaries of around 4,000 euros per month. In Moldova, we are talking about those from Moldova. Even those who are still students and hiring for the first time, still completely lacking in experience, will receive salaries between 600 and 1,000 euros, depending on what they demonstrate they can do right from the start, with quick revisions after a few months , when they start to learn and become more productive. So between this figure, from beginners to those with experience, are included the net salaries, received on the card.
And, even if the salaries are as attractive as possible, there is always a need for more talented people in this field, which is exactly why the people from Arobs now have a partnership with the Technical University of Moldova (UTM). There are additional courses that students can attend, and the teachers there receive an official salary increase under this partnership to teach them advanced hands-on programming courses, with visits to Arobs headquarters and hands-on learning based on actual work done at the of real industry. So the students see and learn from practical examples, guided by their teachers, but at the same time seeing everything from practice, how it works. At the end of the course, students receive much more advanced qualifications in exactly the required field and, if they perform well, they usually also receive job offers at the end, also from Arobs. More than that, within the partnership with UTM, they can work part time, without being bothered by absences, because they are allowed to adjust the schedule. And when they graduate from university, they are already experienced specialists and can choose to continue working at the same company or get hired elsewhere. But, from the practice of this new program, about half of the enrolled students end up being valuable members of the team, which is a very good result and offers these students a chance for faster and more clearly oriented growth.
So, in Moldova, work is very interesting in such a progressive field. And as I have said on the occasion of other reports, even if Moldova does not have a car assembly plant, it is impressive how many things for the final modern cars are produced inside the country!
Author: Ilie Toma
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