International Women's Day at Infineon: Inspiring stories of women in the high-tech industry

Villach, March 4, 2025 - On March 8, International Women's Day is celebrated, a day that draws attention to the achievements of women in all areas of society while highlighting existing challenges.

On the occasion of International Women's Day, Infineon Austria is once again highlighting the inspiring careers of its female employees. Four remarkable women from the company share their stories and show how diverse, exciting and socially relevant jobs in the semiconductor and high-tech sector can be. These portraits are also an impressive illustration of the career opportunities open to women in technical professions and are intended to encourage them to consider a career in technology. The technologies these women are working on, such as energy efficiency, artificial intelligence (AI), electromobility and quantum computing, are highly relevant and help to make life easier, safer and greener.

Sabine Herlitschka, CEO Infineon Austria:

"The diversity and ingenuity that women bring to technical professions are essential for successful innovation in our industry. At Infineon Austria, we are proud to have highly talented women in our team who contribute to shaping the technologies of tomorrow every day. International Women's Day is a great opportunity to share their stories and inspire other women to follow their own path in technology. The stories of female employees are a testament to their individual successes and also a strong signal that there is room for all talents in the tech industry.“

From a media and communications student who rose to become Vice President of a product line for AI data centers, to a chemist who almost became a psychologist and is now developing future technologies, to a physicist working on ion traps for quantum computers, and an electrical engineer who not only works in chip development but also founded a women's network - these four women show how diverse and surprising the paths in the high-tech industry can be.

Here are the four inspiring portraits:

Christina Guggenberger: She keeps the power consumption of AI in check

Christina Guggenberger is a multi-talented woman with the courage to take on responsibility and an impressive career path at Infineon. Today, she is Vice President of the "High Voltage" product line at the company and is responsible for the key growth area of energy-saving chips for AI data centers. Born in Villach, she is not only responsible for the strategy and roadmap of the product line, which supplies AI data centers around the world with its semiconductors and keeps their power consumption in check but is also responsible for around 100 employees: from researchers and developers to technical marketing. However, this path was not predetermined when she began studying Media & Communication in Klagenfurt and actually wanted to become a journalist. But a part-time university job in production at Infineon in Villach and an internship proved in retrospect to be the starting point for a steep career in the high-tech sector, which today regularly takes her halfway around the world, especially to Asia and the USA. "After a few years in marketing and project management, I was at the point where I felt I wanted more, namely, to be fully responsible, to shape and strategize, in short: to manage a product line." Thanks to her ability to constantly expand her skills, her gift for leading people with empathy and her passion for technology, she has achieved this goal - and still has a lot planned for the future. "I encourage women to trust in themselves and their skills instead of constantly questioning themselves when they are offered a job. The central question should not be "Can I do this?" but "Do I want to?", because in my experience, women acquire the skills anyway thanks to their discipline and determination," says Christina Guggenberger. She finds her personal balance outdoors: hiking, ski touring and snowboarding.

Johanna Schlaminger: As a chemist, she makes new technologies fly

Johanna Schlaminger is versatile - which is why she considered many different career options after graduating from high school. Veterinary medicine and technical mathematics were on her list of study options, and Johanna Schlaminger would also have been interested in psychology. Fortunately, Johanna Schlaminger then decided to study chemistry and biochemistry at Graz University of Technology. Today, she and her team are developing important future technologies for the semiconductor industry, which is responding to the major challenges of our time - such as climate change - with high-tech products for decarbonization and digitalization. The Carinthian, who lives in Feldkirchen, now successfully leads two teams at Infineon Austria with a total of 11 engineers from various disciplines. With her expertise in chemistry, she is responsible for individual process development for the volume production of new semiconductor products. This means that the 35-year-old, who likes to climb Villach's local mountain Dobratsch after work, always has her finger on the pulse: "My team is a piece of the puzzle in every project for new technologies - whether it's world firsts in new semiconductor materials, chips for major AI customers or new technologies for electromobility." She describes her job as varied, exciting and different every day. Johanna Schlaminger particularly enjoys working together to find solutions to problems. "We are a team of highly motivated engineers and there is a great dynamic and collaboration." The chemist was already impressed by the working atmosphere at her first job interview following an unsolicited application in 2016, when her future boss greeted her casually in a jogging suit. As it soon turned out: This is the necessary workwear for working in the cleanroom, which is part and parcel of the high-tech sector.  What does Johanna Schlaminger recommend to young women today who are currently considering their career? "Weigh up lots of options, don't let anyone talk you into it, listen to your gut feeling and just go for it. And: don't be your own biggest critic!" she concludes.

Silke Auchter: She builds ion traps for quantum computers to tackle previously unsolvable, complex problems

The project on which experimental physicist Silke Auchter is researching at Infineon Austria is leading the way worldwide. In collaboration with renowned scientific partners and customers, they are working on microchip-based ion traps. Why? To enable quantum computers in the future that solve special problems, e.g. in the field of logistics, optimization and simulations, much more efficiently than is currently possible with conventional computer science. "My personal dream is to improve the world with our applied research. I'm thinking of breakthroughs in medical research, but also enormous energy savings through better logistics and optimizations that are only possible through quantum computing. We are also talking about solving problems that we have not yet recognized today," says Silke Auchter, who was born in Regensburg and came to Infineon in Villach in 2018 after studying in Innsbruck to do her PhD/Doctorate and support the quantum team, which was still very small at the time. Around 25 engineers and scientists are now researching the production of high-performance quantum chips in Villach. Silke, for example, plans and builds ion traps, which she uses to generate electric fields on microchips and thus capture and control the smallest charged particles - ions. "Classical computing only knows two states, 0 or 1, but our ions, a quantum bit, can also assume all states in between. By repeatedly measuring this state, you can then find a correct result very efficiently and reliably." It is no exaggeration to say that this is a paradigm shift in the way computers work. The 31-year-old's enthusiasm for physics is evident in every word: "Physics is the science that tries to understand and explain the world, there is nothing more exciting," explains Silke Auchter, who finds her balance to work in nature and outdoor sports. Her advice for young women who are wondering whether science is for them is very pragmatic: "There is simply no reason not to study a technical subject if you are interested in it!" says Silke Auchter.

Amira Derado: She provides the methodology for building chips for the mobility of tomorrow

Amira Derado lives commitment - in all areas of life: The 52-year-old electrical engineer is not only responsible for ensuring that researchers and developers in Infineon's largest division, the automotive sector, have well thought-out and standardized processes and methodologies for their innovative product developments. She is also the initiator of the newly founded Infineon Women's Network in Graz and brings Infineon to Sarajevo. Her goal: to enable the young talents based there to enter the world of the global market leader in power electronics through Infineon scholarships, PhD and Master's positions. The mother of two adult children is characterized by initiative, determination and structure. These qualities have a lot to do with her impressive career. Born and raised in Sarajevo/Bosnia and Herzegovina, she had to interrupt her studies during the turmoil of war in the early 1990s and worked for the Red Cross and an American NGO in the field of humanitarian aid. In 1995, she moved to Graz, where she completed her electrical engineering studies at Graz University of Technology in record time and decided very early on to take a job in chip development. In September 2002, she was recruited by Infineon in Graz. For the next 20 years, she worked on developing microchips for high-security applications, such as those used in ATM and credit cards, passports and e-cards. After holding several positions and management roles in this area, she moved to the central "Design Enabling & Services" department in 2023. Today, she has an overview of over 200 Infineon projects in the automotive sector and works with the division to design the roadmap for the mobility of the future - all internationally, of course, from Europe to the USA and Asia. "In my job today, I benefit from having worked as a developer myself for many years. As a result, I understand exactly what our researchers and developers need in order to implement innovations," says Amira Derado. She is also committed to issues that are particularly important to her personally: the women's network that she is currently setting up together with colleagues and which aims to empower young women and further improve gender diversity at Infineon. "Building the bridge between Infineon and my old home Sarajevo is a second project close to my heart that I am able to implement as part of the European funding program IPCEI." What Amira Derado wants to motivate young people to do: "Always think outside the box, show initiative and start something new. This creates meaningful work, and you can make a lasting difference!"

Infineon Technologies Austria AG is a subsidiary of Infineon Technologies AG, a global semiconductor leader in power systems and IoT. Semiconductors are essential for mastering the energy-related challenges of our time and helping to shape the digital transformation. Infineon's microelectronics drive decarbonization and digitalization and enable groundbreaking solutions for green and efficient energy, clean and safe mobility as well as a smart and secure IoT.

Infineon Austria pools competencies for research and development, production as well as global business responsibility. The head office is in Villach, with further branches in Graz, Klagenfurt, Linz, Innsbruck and Vienna. With 5,977 employees (including around 2,500 in research and development) from 78 nations, the company generated revenue of EUR 4.8 billion in the 2024 fiscal year (ending 30 September). With research expenditure of 686 million euros, Infineon Austria is the strongest research company in Austria.

Further information at www.infineon.com/austria