Mikhail Smolin

Lead Software Architect at Mercedes-Benz Group AG - Tech4IL & Litigation Operations

Our Center of Competence (CoC) serves as a central IT partner for corporate functions including Legal, eDiscovery, Corporate Compliance and Data Protection, Taxes, Customs, and Corporate Strategy. We drive process optimization through secure, scalable, and innovative IT solutions. Our department owns end‑to‑end responsibility across the application lifecycle, including demand management, requirements engineering, solution architecture, cloud‑based implementation, CI/CD, deployment, IT service management (ITSM), operations, and continuous improvement, with a strong focus on enterprise architecture, governance, DevOps, security, compliance, and agile software development.

As technical leader, I act as a key architectural interface between product teams, internal stakeholders, and external partners to shape the enterprise software and platform strategy. I use my expertise to support my department in requirements analysis, the development of solution concepts and the implementation of information security requirements. My tasks are performed in coordination with the digital strategy of the respective department or the overarching corporate IT strategy. At the same time, I provide active input to my team for the digitization of departmental processes and point out improvements and opportunities in the digital working world of Mercedes-Benz.

I also ...

• Lead software development and manage external suppliers for the digitization of the group-wide Records of Processing Activities (RoPA)¹ as well as the global Privacy Management Application (PrIMA)², and BaFin Insider List³. My duties include:
  1) ownership of all aspects during the software lifecycle, including adherence with information security and data protection requirements, budget management, and procurement of infrastructure,
  2) continuous improvement of enterprise‑scale microservice architectures and DevOps toolchains in alignment with business and stakeholder requirements to enable fast, reliable, and high‑quality software delivery,
  3) embedding security, compliance, and governance requirements into software and platform architectures by applying DevSecOps principles across the entire software development lifecycle,
  4) definition of architectural best practices for monitoring, observability, and incident management to proactively identify performance bottlenecks and ensure application quality, stability, security and reliability,
  5) outline technical requirements, onboarding of new apoplications, API design and procurement of infrastructure.
• Support various investigation processes within the scope of the corporate forensics center in cooperation with the corporate security team and the investigating units (including Audit, Legal, HR). In this context, as IT Case Manager, I act as the central coordination function within the global IT and ensure that necessary data is secured and made available worldwide in a legally required manner.
• Ensure the operation of the Custodian Administration Tool (CAT)⁴ in the eDiscovery IT landscape. In particular, the implementation of the necessary flagging of the custodians in the directory as well as the automated communication with the custodians to ensure compliance with legal requirements on my own responsibility.
• Provide technical specifications (patching of the IT landscape, as well as access protection). If required, I also support other project managers in their project for a successor solution of the current legal and corporate data privacy software.
• Establish further development of the internal eDiscovery and data protection and compliance IT landscape including forensic hardware and software with my colleagues.
• Prepare presentations for top management and create (technical) software documentations for cooperating business units.
• Take on the role of Security Champion and support information security related audits, penetration testing, and security profiles. I also:
  1) define and implement enterprise IT security strategy and architecture, ensuring compliance with A.22/RISE and digital regulations for customer‑facing digital products,
  2) advise internal stakeholders on central IT security solutions and regulatory compliance ( NIS2, GDPR/DSGVO, CRA, EU AI Act ), translating legal requirements into security controls,
  3) conduct and support cyber threat analysis, threat modeling, and threat intelligence, integrating cyber‑domain threats into architectural decisions,
  4) identify vulnerabilities in existing and planned architectures, derived mitigation measures, and validated security control effectiveness,
  5) support for externally conducted security assessments, and undergo IT security trainings, ensuring implementation of internal security requirements.

Achievements

• As PhD candidate, I've published several scientific papers in leading journals on automotive cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and intrusion detection.
• I've successfully completed five enterprise DevSecOps training programs (~80 hours total), covering secure software architecture, DevSecOps principles, CI/CD security, cloud and application security, compliance, and security governance, with formal certification awarded for each training.
• As technical owner, I supported the 2021 company-wide Automated Data Deletion⁵ including more than 330 entities worldwide. I successfully pushed and managed the implementation of the central Exception Management Tool (AVT)⁶ for our Corporate Data Protection (CDP) team.
• Within only one month, I successfully migrated a CaaS (Containers as a Service) based application to our standardized PaaS (Platform as a Service). This migration resulted in a 70% reduction in infrastructure operating costs and allowing developers to focus mainly on business application development letting the PaaS manage the runtime and all lower layers.
• Thanks to the can-do attitude and goal-driven work with colleagues from Corporate Security, I was able to roll-out our Forensic Management System (eForensics)⁷ in only 2.5 months from start to production. I am glad that together with the business unit we mastered the project in such a short time with all the hurdles and were able to go live as planned in November 2021.
• In order to validate my proficiency in eDiscovery, adding more value to our organization, and distinguish myself in the industry, I successfully attended trainings in case administration, processing, active learning and analytics with Relativity⁸.
• I successfully pitched my projects to our CIO and the works council.
• More to come. :)

Senior IT Architect at Daimler AG - Powertrain Production & Data Analytics

The Center of Competence Powertrain Production & Data Analytics (ITO/CP) provides efficient and stable applications for the control of production processes in foundry, manufacturing and assembly. Our applications for assembly control, in-line quality, machine and plant efficiency and dispatch are used in the powertrain plants in Germany, Romania, China and Poland.

As IT Architect within the ITO/CP department, I effectively connected business and IT, ensuring that systemic solutions comply with IT standards while meeting business needs. To optimize production processes and to generate new solution approaches, my team and I developed innovative .NET-based big data solutions on top of the eXtollo platform using Microsoft Azure Cloud functionalities such as Azure Data Lake Store and Azure Data Factory for data storage and data processing. By keeping track of innovations and technological development, I controlled the worldwide rollout and accessibility of our data platforms PRADA ¹ and Analytics@PT ² and ensured daily technical and functional support. My main goal was to promote driving digital transformation efforts across the broader powertrain landscape while collaborating closely with other internal teams and stakeholders, to help define and execute the digital strategy of our core processes and the utilization of forward-looking technologies.

I also ...

• lead the evolution of the Enterprise Architecture methodology for Daimler AG, ensuring consistency, scalability, operational feasibility, and measurable business value across the organization.
• identified and drove strategic optimization initiatives across processes, organizational structures, and technology landscapes in alignment with powertrain IT and digital strategy.
• defined and owned the target architecture using capability‑based models, in close collaboration with domain and business owners.
• made and governed strategic architecture decisions while proactively identifying and mitigating systemic risks related to scalability, security, resilience, and long‑term innovation capability.
• advised enterprise‑wide architecture boards and decision forums, shaping architecture principles, standards, and reference architectures.
• established and enforced architecture governance to ensure compliance with enterprise standards and alignment across domains and initiatives.
• enabled IT organizations by defining transformation roadmaps and migration strategies to transition from legacy landscapes to target architectures.
• partnered with business units to implement target architectures using modern digital platforms, cloud‑native solutions, and scalable integration patterns.
• promoted architectural best practices and ensured clear, executive‑level communication with senior stakeholders and decision‑makers.
• represented enterprise architecture initiatives and strategic programs in senior management committees (Level 2 and Level 3).
• governed external service providers and vendors through structured performance management and KPI‑based steering.
• undertook technical leadership of interdisciplinary and hybrid project teams (internal and external) across global regions including EMEA, NAFTA, and China, leveraging international delivery hubs.

Achievements

• Daimler »DRIVE«: Within two months, my team and I developed a fully functional, web-based tool to consolidate master data for the entire powertrain.
• Daimler »PRADA«: Thanks to the excellent cooperation between the project members and the manufacturing department, our team could schedule the IT rollout at Sebes (Romania) for the first quarter of 2020.
• I further developed and implemented a comprehensive digital platform strategy, including a 2-year-roadmap.
• As an IT representative, I led workshops for connecting new and existing plants to our IT landscape.
• By creating mockups and prototypes myself, I was able to reduce the cost for UX design by 100%.

Software Engineer at EXXETA AG - UI & Web Solutions

Leading agile software development according to Scrum, full-stack UI/UX Web development, and with regard to on-time delivery and seamless integration of the software components, I was also responsible for interpersonal communication in inter-cultural, inter-disciplinary teams, across multiple time zones with lead customers so that our outcome meets the product requirements. Ranging from connected car, mobility, finance, and embedded automotive systems, I was involved in a variety of projects for major automotive OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers. I have worked on Java EE backends as well as with frontend technologies such as JavaScript, TypeScript, HTML5, CSS, NodeJS using client-side frameworks being React, AngularJS, Dojo and Django.

I also ...

• planned and directed all aspects of engineering and people activities within the development team.
• mentored working students, new colleagues and provided technical guidance for new initiatives.
• managed budget and costs including planning, tracking as well as communication to stakeholders.
• developed future-proof components to efficiently adapt UX principles across projects.
• recruited talents for innovations and state-of-the-art software development practices.
• collaborated with external companies to develop strategic partnerships.

Achievements

• Daimler »EDLS Cockpit«: I developed a Web application to replace an old .NET (Windows) frontend system, which was able to perform a better job, resulting in a 20% reduction in response time for the processing of user queries and replacing up to 90% of previous software in Germany as well as India. Managed the project (four-member team) during the whole project lifecycle.
• Daimler Financial Services »eRDR Data Tracker«: UI development and coordination of a distributed and inter-disciplinary agile development team (four-member team). My team was able to develop a fully functional MVP within two months.
• Daimler UX Design: I co-developed future-proof UI Web components to efficiently adapt Daimler UX principles across multiple company-wide projects.
• I established an innovative mentoring program for working students, interns as well as new colleagues.
• I recruited new talents for innovations and state-of-the-art software development practices.

Research Assistant and Master's Thesis at EXXETA AG - Automotive Cybersecurity

Big Data research in the field of automotive cybersecurity with Matlab, Python, Keras and TensorFlow. I built a novel vehicular intrusion detection system using a deep feed forward neural network. The parameters building the neural network structure are trained with probability-based feature vectors that are extracted from controller area network packets.

Achievements

• I was one of the very first German students who dealt with the research of vehicular anomaly (intrusion) detection systems for the automotive CAN bus. My results were presented to a public audience and been awarded for the best student's work of the year in the property computer science course.
• I established reproducible research principles which have helped others to improve their workflow in various projects.
• I worked with the company's CTO and product managers from different departments to analyze new technologies which resulted in two new projects.
• I co-developed in-house workshops that resulted in an increase of 50+ employees enrolling in company development courses per year.
• I created scripts to ensure a consistent development setup across company laptops (which codifies best practices).

Software Engineer at TWT Automotive Engineering - Car Simulation Software

My roles was mainly focused on software development with Java and Python with a stronig focus on distributed architectures and services for the conception, implementation and validation of automotive safety-, comfort and infotainment applications. My duties also involved network management, shell script programming, and Tier II technical support. I also configured, deployed and supported client-server systems such as Windows, macOS and Linux.

Achievements

• Being part of a five-member Tier II technical support team for 200+ employees, I was accountable for 55% reduction of hardware failures and network downtime as well as a 30% growth in productivity among colleagues.
• My team and I eliminated managed service provider costs by taking over server monitoring and overall help desk functions.
• I contributed toward network installation encompassing 120 workstations, 20 printers, and 7 communication rooms with supporting infrastructure. The move was accomplished within two weeks.

Intern and Bachelor's Thesis at Bosch Automotive Electronics - Mobility Solutions

Being part of a distributed development team in an agile project setup, my duties involved Java programming to graphically modeling ESP control module test sequences, test automation design in LabView and creation of mockups and technical documentations in coordination with internal customers.

Achievements

• Started a team effort to switch to a more agile development process so that in-house stakeholders and team members remain motivated for optimal project outcome.
• I built a novel GUI to graphically modeling ECU control sequences to make automotive ECU quality testing easier and less time-consuming (before that our engineers examined and created XML lists for test sequences manually).
• I created technical documentations to established guidelines, policies, and practices across departments and utilized information mapping for increase end user's understanding of the application.
• I led, trained and worked very closely with new interns and working students to effectively create qualitative project output.

Tutor in Statistics and Mathematics - Faculty of Engineering

Volunteering as a tutor and graduate assistant, I achieved noy only strong interpersonal communication skills but also listening expertise in order to explain concepts in a multitude of ways.

Achievements

• I established and lead an academic writing workshop which not only improved any student's writing ability but also served as a University-wide guideline.
• Being a member of the student's council and the University’s table tennis team has helped me broaden my cultural knowledge and the ability to work effectively with other people in an international context.