Solution Engineers are the Swiss Army knives of tech roles, bridging technical capabilities and the end-user’s needs. They help design and implement solutions, ensure that products run smoothly across environments, conduct workshops for customers, troubleshoot or shape how technology is used to solve real problems.
At Systematic, this balance between technical depth and customer interaction is built into the role. With a development background, Sven Ahrens, Solution Engineer located in Cologne, combines hands-on technical understanding with a focus on customer impact and support in Central Europe .
Curious how virtual battles prepared Sven for real-world Defence projects? Read the full story to find out.
The developer years: Building more than code
Before writing a single line of production code, Sven led 25-person raid teams in World of Warcraft, coordinating strategy, analysing performance and motivating his team. That early leadership and tactical experience laid the foundation for a career in software development.
What began in 2008 as a passion for gaming evolved into a masterclass in leadership and systems thinking. WoW raids, much like Defence operations, demand precision, adaptability and trust in your team. His focus soon shifted from gameplay to building add-ons, leading to Lua scripting and contributions to community tools like AtlasLoot. “I wanted to know how it all worked - and how to make it better,” he says. His curiosity didn’t stop there - it carried him into the professional world of software development. The first major step was at a digital agency - a modern tech playground with CI/CD pipelines, containerization, AI integration, and all the cutting-edge tools that make a developer’s heart race. “I loved it”, he says.
Over time, he found himself drawn beyond the code: joining architecture discussions, mentoring juniors, leading projects, and meeting clients. “Years of experience in WoW raid mechanics, knowledge sharing and coordinating my team turned out to be great training for stakeholder management,” he laughs.
See how Systematic's Defence solutions work in action and how you can build and deploy software that saves lives.
Why development experience matters
Writing and debugging code taught him more than syntax - it shaped how he approaches problems and builds systems. That mindset became the backbone of his work at Systematic. Transitioning from pure coding into solution engineering meant expanding his developer skills and instincts
Today, his work spans trainings, workshops, configuration management as well as system and software architecture - all grounded in that same mindset and his hands-on experience. “When I conduct Software Development Kit workshops, I know where people get stuck and how to make complex concepts click. Same goes for system design: when you’ve built things yourself, you develop a sense for what’s scalable, what’s maintainable, and what’s going to cause trouble six months down the line,” he says.
Now, as a Solution Engineer in Defence at Systematic, Sven draws on both his developer background and his passion for strategy to deliver complex, mission-critical solutions, train teams, and guide stakeholders. “Deploying solutions for the military follows similar objectives - it’s about strategy, coordination, and making sure every system, and every person, performs at their best.”
Sven Ahrens is a Solution Engineer with a background in software development and a passion for translating complex technology into practical solutions for Defence operations. Skilled in system architecture, coding, and customer engagement, he combines technical expertise with strategic thinking to deliver reliable, scalable solutions.
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