At SK hynix, our people are the core of our success. When our people thrive, so does our business. That’s why we place such an emphasis on company culture, workplace environment and employee wellbeing.
The second installment of our “In Their Words series, we are spotlighting three junior employees from across our global network – from Minsk to San Jose – to discuss life at SK hynix, what inspires them at work and at home, and where they hope to be 10 years from now.
Meet Angelina Belyasova
Location: Minsk, Belarus Team: SSD FW Verification Joined: June 2019
Her day-to-day: Typically, my work involves dealing with a number of specifications. In the process, I exam FW code and existing HW models code. Also, I take the time to study the tools I use. If I cannot find any information or it is difficult to understand it, I turn to colleagues for advice. They always support me in this process.
What she’s working on: I am helping to establish a simulation environment (called SAFE) for further FW testing. Our team needs to assemble it from many various components, which include HW models, adapted FW code, test adapters, etc. HW models are either developed from scratch based on specification for corresponding SoC module or derived from existing ones. Once the environment is set up, my primary responsibility will be to analyze failures.
Her motivation: Personally, I feel motivated when I find out that our company is doing well in the market. I am also proud when I hear about our social projects, in which I take part with great pleasure. It is these kinds of things that make me work hard to contribute to such achievements.
What she’s learned at SK hynix: The most fascinating thing for me was to realize how complicated the process of creating a product is — how many people are involved and how the hardware actually works.
When she’s not working: When I can find some free time, I usually do one of these: reading, dancing, off-key singing, walking, hiking, doing sports, making plans, cooking or spending time with people I love. I am also keen on learning how to dance salsa and how to swim!
Where she’ll be in 10 years: I hope to become a specialist, who will be proud of all my projects, as well as a person who will inspire and support young professionals in this sphere, just like my colleagues have done for me.
Simon Huang
Location: San Jose, California Team: Solution Lab (SOLAB) Joined: June 2019
His day-to-day: A typical day for me usually involves meeting with startups for potential collaboration opportunities with SK hynix, working on Industry Sensing reports to provide unique insights to SK hynix management on the latest technology & industry trend and meeting with my teammates.
His work-school balance: Working and going to school for my MBA at the same time has been very challenging. In order to maintain high quality performance both at work and at school, I had to take a slower pace for my MBA program. As a result, I can have a better balance between my work and school, while still leaving some time for my family. The experience of coming from an MBA intern to full-time employee has also helped me transition from an engineering mindset to a more holistic mindset
His take on company culture: The idea of VWBE (voluntary and willing brain engagement) provides a perfect guideline to our day-to-day work. The “brain engagement” part is really about idea incubation where we need to be very thorough and innovative in generating and sharing our new ideas; the “voluntary and willing” part guides our execution where we should voluntarily take up ownership of new projects and initiatives and are willing to break any barriers for the success of the projects.
How he’s staying connected: With VOICE, our events planning committee, we’ve hosted multiple “Let’s Catch up Friday” events for all SKHYA employees to see each other via video conference and enjoy fun, interactive virtual activities with us.
When he’s not working: I like to spend time with my family and my dog, Simba. I’m also a big fan of Chinese Hip-Hop music – I even performed a Chinese Hip-hop song on my own wedding several years ago.
Where he’ll be in 10 years: I hope I will become an impactful leader who is able to recruit and lead a group of bright, young talents to make great positive impacts not only to the industry but also to our society and environment.
Henry Chang
Location: Santa Clara, California Team: FTE Software Development Joined: March 2019
His day-to-day: My work mainly revolves around a product named “IceT” (short for “Internal Common Engineering Tool”), where I must work with my team to add new NVMe features in IceT among other functionalities. I am also responsible for maintaining our build environments so that our team’s builds get completed without issues.
His favorite part of the job: I enjoy the detective work which goes into determining the root cause of a reported bug. The process of doing preliminary investigation, forming a hypothesis, collecting evidence, testing the hypothesis and presenting my findings makes me feel like Sherlock Holmes! Such thrills were unexpected, but a welcome part of my role.
What he’s learned: Getting to know and working together with my co-workers actually makes me personally invested in my work. As a member of the SW team, I often work with the test team and security team on either feature requests or bug reports. During the process, I’d like to think that we reached a greater mutual understanding and also got to know each other in a personal level. As a result, I came to a fuller appreciation of the fact that my co-workers are my partners in our shared endeavor.
His inspiration: My family endured our share of hardships when we first migrated to the United States, but I always admired my parents’ steadfastness in their work, their positive outlook, and their care for me and my older brother. At work, I am driven by a “debt of gratitude.” When I am in the office (or, rather, at the home-office now), I am reminded that I am where I am today because my team and the company believe that I have the potential to learn, grow and contribute to SK hynix. I am also inspired by my teammates and their passion and drive for our work.
When he’s not working: I like to draw real-life sceneries, people, or fictional scenes from my imagination. I also enjoy crafting stories and writing them down as short stories; someday I hope to publish a novel or a collection of short stories.
Where he’ll be in 10 years: Someday I hope to have acquired enough knowledge and leadership skills to lead my own team in SK hynix. Even beyond that, I hope to be one of the many leaders who helps others to further enhance the culture of excellence of SK hynix.
Growing Talent from the Inside Out
At SK hynix, we move at the speed of technology, and so must our people. We believe in the potential of our junior employees to grow and evolve just as quickly the company does. Supported by an inclusive, friendly and hard-working culture of “super excellence” (SUPEX) and voluntary and willing brain engagement (VWBE), there’s no limit to what they can achieve.
It’s these bright young faces in places from Minsk to San Jose to Santa Clara who will one day become leaders in the semiconductor industry, and we’re proud to support them on their journeys. Their contributions – both to the company and to the world – have only just begun, and we look forward to seeing what they’ll do next.
