As a consultant, Maksim is now enjoying his work days with a wide range of machine vision and machine learning projects. The variety of work appeals to him: “Up to now, I have never considered this job as work, because it’s something I like doing. As long as you can say that, it’s never really work.”

From physics mastermind to computer vision enthusiast

Before his position at Kapernikov, Maksim covered an impressive academic trajectory. At the Saint Petersburg State University, he obtained a master’s degree in theoretical and mathematical physics. After that, he earned his Ph.D. in condensed matter and materials physics at the Ecole Polytechnique in Paris. After a term as a postdoctoral researcher in the US, Maksim arrived in Belgium, for a position as postdoctoral researcher at the Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL). It was during that time that he started working on computer vision projects, including the development of a people counting algorithm. 

“I developed the people counting algorithm with the idea to replace the tedious counting work of human observers during elections,” says Maksim. “The project sparked my further interest for machine vision and soon I was looking for a position where I could explore this field of expertise more in a business context. That’s how Kapernikov ultimately appeared on my radar.”

The job interview – more a friendly conversation than a hard-edged interview – immediately gave Maksim good vibes and already hinted at the friendly, easygoing atmosphere at the Kapernikov headquarters. Today, Maksim also values that he is able to maintain a good work – life balance: “During my academic days, I often worked unhealthy hours to meet my goals. I’m glad that Kapernikov has shown that good work does not need to come at the expense of your health.”

Broad skill set

Although academia is a different world compared to business, Maksim says that he has obtained important skills that can be used in commercial context as well: “Managing people, presenting your work in an accessible way to an audience, planning out an idea into concrete steps… the list goes on.”

Outside of work, Maksim is a passionate basketball player, a game he always likes to pick up when he’s in Russia with friends. And since team sports have not always been possible during the past few months, Maksim has also taken up running to keep in shape. “It’s good to have a healthy mind in a healthy body, that’s how you can manage to do your best work at Kapernikov.”