Plano Siemens HQ Expands Hiring as it Widens Applications for Digital Twin Tech

Siemens CFO Timo Nentwich, who moved to Dallas from Berlin last October, says the company has moved far beyond enabling the designs of airplanes and cars, into analyzing entire manufacturing processes.

“Few people know that we’re running a large operation like this out of the Plano office,” the CFO said.

You won’t see a “help wanted” sign hanging at the Siemens Digital Industries Software headquarters in Plano. But the operation is hiring like gangbusters—for 500 jobs across the U.S. and for 50 openings in Texas.

Driving that growth is the increasing need to improve processes, designs, and simulations by applying the latest technology—what Siemens refers to as the creation of a comprehensive digital twin, and then improving how things work, according to Siemens CFO Timo Nentwich, who moved to Dallas from Berlin last October.

“Few people know that we’re running a large operation like this out of the Plano office,” said Nentwich, who says Siemens has moved far beyond enabling the designs of airplanes and cars, into analyzing entire manufacturing processes.

That includes creating efficiencies in safely scaling Covid vaccine production to meet global demand, and even branches into the abstract area of providing so-called low-code software to designers, allowing them to improve and personalize their way of working.

Siemens’ Timo Nentwich [Photo: Siemens]

“The software that tells you whether the sound of shutting a car door is a pleasant noise is the same one that tells you if the noise of the washing machine is annoying,” he said, adding to numerous abilities that show how Siemens’ software can be applied in a variety of industries.

Those 500 job listings nationwide are for positions including software sales reps, application engineers, software engineers, he said.

Acquisitions extend scope

The Siemens Plano operation serves as a hub for more than 20,000 Siemens Digital Industries Software employees worldwide.

That branch of Germany-based Siemens generated $5 billion in revenue in 2020, and continues to expand as the digital software arm acquires companies that extend its current scope, including building software for the design, construction, and engineering of vessels and marine structures, and adding modeling capabilities at molecular scales for discovery and development of materials and chemicals.

Last fall, with Siemens’ acquisition of computational chemistry software company Culgi, the company added soft materials simulation that enables optimization of advanced materials. [Image: Siemens]

Right now, Siemens Digital Industries Software employs 200 in Plano—including individuals working in finance, software development, and sales—and 400 in Texas.

Nentwich said that though the hiring market is tough for attracting skilled engineers, developers, and other such employees, Siemens has found a perennial spot on Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies list; it ranked first in its category for the fifth consecutive year.

To generate its Most Admired list, Fortune starts with a universe of about 1,500 candidates: the 1,000 largest U.S. companies ranked by revenue, along with non-U.S. companies in Fortune’s Global 500 database that have revenues of $10 billion or more.

Siemens collaborative connections

From a local perspective, Siemens Digital Industries Software continues to grow roots in the region, collaborating on projects with both UT Dallas and Southern Methodist University, and with Toyota Motors North America in Plano, which is a five-minute drive west from the Siemens office.

Siemens Digital Industries Software started in Plano with Siemens’ purchase of UGS, a Plano-based company whose primary focus was on computer-aided design in the automotive industry.

Nentwich says though he’s lived in DFW for less than a year, he finds the region’s residents to be extremely welcoming and open to new ideas.

“The people are interested—they’re open to sharing, and special and friendly—not superficial,” he said. “They’re caring and very inviting. They are very easy to talk to, but also, easy to stay in touch with.”