Career

My story of change - Vivien Dóra Szabó-Horváth

2025. 06. 24.

Vivien Dóra Szabó-Horváth’s career is a great example that change is not only a challenge but also an opportunity. In twelve years at Audi Hungaria, she has proven herself in four different fields, and each new challenge has brought her fresh impetus and valuable experiences. Through her openness and courage, she has always found the path to progress, even in the midst of the unknown. Today, she is in a position where her professional skills and interests are perfectly matched and she feels truly at home.

My path to Audi Hungaria was through Széchenyi István University. Also, family inspiration played a big part in this: a close family member of mine also graduated as a technical manager, like me, in logistics, and then went to work for the four-ring company, which he told me a lot about. I also heard about Audi from my father, although he was not an employee, but a truck driver who often visited the company. These experiences and stories have left a deep impression on me, so when I had the opportunity to join as a trainee after four semesters, I didn’t hesitate for a moment. I started in July 2013 in the field of ready-to-drive car delivery. The move to the new vehicle factory, including establishing the new processes, was taking place at the time, so I was immediately in the thick of it. In addition to experiencing many new things, my responsibilities have also been constantly expanding. I wanted to stay in this field full-time, but it wasn’t possible back then. However, I was sure that I wanted to continue my career within Audi.

And with an extraordinary start. I first joined the company as an employee in December 2014, on the same day as my future husband, who started in powertrain production and is now working where I was doing my apprenticeship, in ready-to-drive car delivery. But I was already in the process of moving to the paint shop, where I was hired on a two-year fixed contract to replace a pregnant colleague. Although I also had logistics tasks here, it was not transport per se, but running the logistics processes within the paint shop. Here too, I immediately found myself in deep waters. I had a relatively short period of time for training, and I was also preparing for my final exam at university, so it was a really intense but exciting time. At the beginning of 2015, I successfully graduated, which brought a significant relief to my daily life. In addition, a colleague returning from maternity leave helped me for a couple of hours on a daily basis, which was a great support, and I felt that the missing bricks were gradually falling into place. From then on, I enjoyed the work more and more, also because it brought me into contact with many areas. At the same time, it was a great time for self-development—I learnt to be assertive, while constantly improving myself professionally, as the basics I had studied at university were increasingly complemented by Audi-specific practical knowledge.

Meanwhile, the end of the two-year contract was fast approaching.

Sure enough, I started looking around at the open positions. My interview at the Experimental Powertrain Manufacturing Center (MAC) was a success and although their original plan was to fill in the position in-house, I got a call back a few weeks later that I was welcome to join the team. In October 2016, I said goodbye to the paint shop after doing the annual inventory, and started at MAC in November. My work there was more like my previous job at the paint shop. I was responsible for stocks, warehouses and accounting. My experience in the automotive industry has helped me a lot, but powertrain production is still another “cup of tea”. Not to mention that when I arrived in the area, I was in the middle of a complete structural change. Of course, this was not a problem either, just an unexpected extra challenge. I worked in this position for two years, and in 2018 I had my first son.

Originally, I thought that when my son, Zente would turn two, I would return to work—and to Audi, of course. But life had a different scenario, because in 2020, our second son, Zalán arrived. However, my idea didn't change after that: I wanted to stay at home with him for two years, but after a year and a half my phone rang. A colleague at the MAC was expecting a baby, so they wanted me for the vacant position. Although it felt a bit premature, I tried to manage the return. Unfortunately, my son was on the waiting list at the crèche in Győrzámoly, and crèches in Győr seemed like a long shot, so I couldn’t take the opportunity at MAC. Over half a year later, in the summer of 2022, I notified my HR officer of my intention to return, but there was no vacancy at the MAC, so I started looking for jobs again. After a four-year break, applying for jobs and going to interviews was a completely new thing for me—especially as I had two young children to care about.

I was offered two positions, one of which I was immediately told not to be intimidated by the name of, and that I should believe I could do it. The job title of development engineer in the product data management area sounded scary not only at first, but later on as well. At the same time, I was determined to give it a try. The interview took place online, which was completely new to me, as before Covid, such meetings were done in person. We were on holiday at Lake Balaton when the first meeting took place, while the boys were busy at the beach. I admit I was very nervous, but later it turned out to be unnecessary. Within a few days, I received a positive response, so the already scheduled second interview was cancelled.

Product data management activities are often referred to as the alpha and omega of product information flow in technical development. The flow of information on parts, the tracking of changes and the checking of technical drawings are tasks that are necessary for preparing the parts list on which the company and the entire group is built. The parts list is the basis for the procurement of parts, the planning of logistics and the production itself. Data inaccuracy can stop entire car factories. At first, this seemed quite scary, as did the fact that the logistics I had been learning was practically just about working with part numbers. It was very reassuring to see that it is really a team effort—I'm not alone, we are all doing the same tasks and everyone is very helpful. This was already evident during my training. The interesting thing was that my colleagues before me had been partly trained in Ingolstadt, but I was a kind of prototype, meaning I was the first person to be trained in Győr. By having everyone dealing with me, I was able to adopt the views and attitudes of all my colleagues. In December, two months after I took up the position, several new colleagues arrived, and from then on we had group training, which I also enjoyed very much. The success of my training is shown by the fact that after a year, I myself could train others. At first I worked 6 hours a day because my manager thought it was my best interest, and therefore in the interest of the company as well. And he was right. During those 6 hours I really focused on my Audi tasks, which is essential, as this job requires maximum attention. And, at the same time, I had peace of mind, because I knew that I would have plenty of time for the children. After a while I was working 7 hours, then 8 hours a day, but it was built up gradually, like me. Very soon I felt that I was in a good place, or I could say the best place in every respect. Both my colleagues and my work are great. There are always new topics, new questions, I’m simply never bored.

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