John Deere's Birthe Pentz discusses her engineering role

John Deere offers a wide variety of high-tech jobs that are working to make the world a better place, including engineering professions in agriculture. Being part of something big and feeding the world's population certainly sounds like a rewarding career.

Meet John Deere Manager Manufacturing Engineering Services, Birthe Pentz, who in an interview with audimax, discusses her John Deere career, her day-to-day work, and what the engineering profession in agricultural technology looks like.

Birthe's day-to-day work as a John Deere engineer

Birthe joined John Deere through an internship and has worked with the team for five years. Working within product development, her role as Senior Analyst in Global Engineering Resource Planning, means she is the interface between finance and product development.

"I dealt with the question of how resources in development can be used as efficiently and effectively as possible in order to develop the best possible products. That's why my typical day is varied. I would describe this as periodic throughout the year, depending on the development cycle of the tractors or the timing of the fiscal year," says Birthe.

"I find it very exciting to be able to actively shape the development process of our machines and to see how different concepts come together in a tractor. Here I am happy to support you with various analyses. It's really great to see how a product is created that simplifies people's work steps in the end," Birthe adds.

Choosing the agricultural machinery industry

"John Deere machines are high-tech products that offer engineers countless interesting fields of activity. As a global company, John Deere offers the perfect opportunity to collaborate on different product lines to create machines that are used every day to feed the world's population," comments Birthe.

Forging an interest in agriculture

Birthe explains that she believes the enthusiasm for innovation and new technologies is an important part of being in the engineering profession.

"For this purpose, an applicant should be interested in agriculture or the area of application of our products. Because the work often takes place in an international context, a good knowledge of English and the ability to work in a team are an advantage," says Birthe.

"I would like to recommend our careers page or an internship to interested people to get to know the career opportunities at John Deere," Birthe suggests.

An expansive career in engineering

Birthe was a Masters Student studying Product Engineering for seven months in 2017, based in Mannheim, Germany. After this, Birthe worked as a John Deere Product Engineer in the Operator Station for over two years, seeing her then progress to the role as a John Deere Product Engineer working in Portfolio and Budget Planning Coordination. Birthe then moved into the role as a Senior Analyst in Global Engineering Resource Planning, before starting her job in January 2023 as Manager in Manufacturing Engineering Services.

Prior to joining John Deere, Birthe graduated with a BA Degree in 2013 in International Business from MannheimBaden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University Mannheim, Germany, and received a MSC Degree in Industrial Engineering and Management from Hochschule Mannheim, Germany.

Birthe then worked within Medical Equipment Manufacturing, seeing her work for four years with Sirona Dental Systems, with roles as a Cooperative Education Student and a Junior Sales Manager in Instruments across Asia Pacific.