An Accidental Engineer or the Choice of Destiny?

Thirty years ago, if you saw a young boy playing basketball with his rookie team in shorts on a hot summer day, determined to become a professional sportsman, that was probably me.

Hi, I am Tinku Malayil Jose, head of the Center of Excellence for Embedded and Device Engineering at Quest Global. My engineering journey unexpectedly began on the basketball court.

When I was in school, I spent more time on the field than in my classes. All my efforts went into practicing, participating, and winning at school, district, state, and national levels competitions. After joining a sports school during high school, I had my priorities set; sports was what interested me, and I would become a sportsman.

Along with my passion for sports, I also loved fixing things. As a kid, my eyes would light up at the sight of the “Engineers build the world” car stickers and at the mention of trains, airplanes, and automobiles. The TGV, the Bullet Train, the Jumbo, the Concord, and trucks always mesmerized me. Whether it was by accident or destiny, while fixing things, life fixed me up to become an engineer.

In junior college, I started thinking beyond sports. My interest had slowly begun to shift towards engineering and technology. Every engineering domain fascinated me, especially Mechanical. However, when it was time to choose, in a twist of fate, I chose Computer Science and thus began my engineering journey.

Becoming an engineer:

In college, I started to enjoy the adrenaline rush and the light-bulb moments while solving problems (some complex ones, too). So much so that I started being called a ‘Firefighter.’

I realized my time on the basketball court, and my engineering journey has much more in common. They taught me patience, to be methodical, to work hard, and to always yearn for more. Years on the courts and tracks instilled a competitive spirit and led me never to give up. Thus helping me solve some of the hardest engineering problems I came across.

At the start of my career, I was fortunate to work on many global product launches like AVRs, smart TVs, wireless speakers, STBs/DVRs, infotainment systems, IoT systems, IoT gateways, ADAS systems, smart home products, and platforms like media streaming/delivery systems, and more with several innovative companies, and especially, interacting with many intelligent minds.

Today, I am proud and humbled as I lead the Center of Excellence for Embedded and Device Engineering at Quest Global. I focus on driving inter-vertical, inter-practice, and inter-technology collaboration to solve some of the hardest problems our customers are facing. The adrenaline rush I still get from problem-solving makes me one of the happiest engineers. Quest Global has given me the platform to grow in my career and make a mark as a humble engineer through its global reach and vast scope of work.

From my dream of becoming a professional sportsman to becoming an extraordinary engineer – I am not sure if it was accidental or destined; either way, I am enjoying it. Thank you, Quest Global, for providing me with the opportunity and platform to enjoy what I do.