Creating the perfect blend of a startup, academia, and a large international enterprise. A chat with Debby Lee, Co-Founder and General Manager of ASUS Robotics & AI Center.

Debby Lee, Co-Founder and General Manager of the ASUS Robotics & AI Center talks about fostering creative wisdom and enabling talents to thrive in a truly unique, modern, and global work environment.

Debby Lee has been working at ASUS for 15 years and is a Co-Founder and General Manager of the ASUS Robotics & AI Center. She takes a leading role in defining the center’s vision and driving its growth, while also forming strategic alliances and working to create a collaborative and intellectually stimulating environment that fosters collective wisdom. Prior to the formation of the ASUS Robotics & AI Center, Debby was the Senior Global Director of Corporate Communications at ASUS.

Debby, what is the advantage of being located in Taipei?

Taipei is literally at the center of the global supply-chain and manufacturing ecosystem for electronic devices. If you are excited about being at the forefront of the tech industry, Taipei is definitely one of the best places to be in the world. It offers the unique opportunity to be at the epicenter of the seamless blending of hardware and software.

Being located in Taipei, why is the ASUS Robotics & AI Center reaching out to
talents from ETH?

One of the most critical missions of our center is to bring top engineers and scientists from around the world together under one roof, as interdisciplinary knowledge from different domain experts is critical for solving the most difficult challenges in robotics, AI, and cyber physical systems. As one of the top schools in the world, ETH has a wealth of exceptional talent who can contribute to our work and push these fields forward.

What kind of talents from ETH would excel in your environment?

ETH offers one of the best technical educations in the world. In addition to their knowledge, what sets ETH students apart is their curiosity, persistence, and personality. To excel in our environment, one must be curious to know how things work instead of simply accepting the status quo of existing processes that have been put in place.

The work we are trying to do is extremely ambitious and difficult, and it takes persistence to stay on track and enjoy the journey. We believe strong morals and a healthy team dynamic is critical for fostering the collective wisdom critical to our success.

What is unique about ASUS Robotics & AI Center’s hiring process?

One of the most unique aspects of our hiring process is that we do not try to match candidates with very specific job descriptions or positions. In fact, it is the other way around. Once we find an interesting candidate, we try to customize the position to best suit that candidate.

Our hiring process is designed to help us identify if candidates are indeed experts in their fields or have a solid foundation in their respective areas of study. We strongly believe that the best candidates are more than what is written on their resumes. Someone who is highly intelligent, passionate, and driven can unleash their full potential when given the right opportunity.

Every candidate who applies for one position with us is automatically considered for all of our positions based on their area of study, interest, experience, and potential.

What kind of assistance does the ASUS Robotics & AI Center provide to help
new team members relocate to Taipei and ease into their new environment?

From a work perspective, the transition to Taipei from any European city should be pretty seamless. We are a fully English-speaking work environment with a similar setup to any major software company.

From a personal perspective, we try to make the relocation process as easy as possible for our new team members. With the help of dedicated relocation specialists, we take care of the logistics of coming to Taipei, including moving, shipping belongings, arranging hotel accommodation, and applying for a Taiwan visa and work permit. We also help new team members find their ideal home in Taipei based on their lifestyle and preferences.

Additionally, we host a lot of team activities that focus on learning and experiencing the local culture and landscape. We believe it is just as important to learn and celebrate the major holidays and customs of our international colleagues who work with us. It is a truly international environment where we constantly learn new things about each other and our cultures.

What do you think makes the ASUS Robotics & AI Center an ideal place to
work?

We pride ourselves on being the perfect blend of a startup, academia, and a large international enterprise. Fresh graduates often struggle with which of these three paths they should take, but with us they can have it all.

We have the characteristics of a startup, since we rely on a very strong team spirit. We all have the passion and mentality typically seen in these startup environments to push forward the fields of robotics, AI, and cyber-physical systems.

We also choose to maintain a flat organization where everyone is encouraged and expected to contribute. We are like academia in the sense that the challenges that we strive to discover and face are rigorous and require depth of knowledge but, in turn, are quite satisfying to solve. Finally, we have the resources and support of a large international company, which gives us access to fast prototyping and proofs of concept while enabling us to stay true to our aspirations and focus on our goals.

How do you and your team stay relevant in an industry which moves so
quickly?

Collective wisdom! In this fast-paced and ever-changing industry, it is simply not possible for one person to know everything. Having team members with expertise in particular areas who can complement each other and push each other forward is critical to our success. I am proud to say that our current team members are not only exceptional engineers, but also incredible team players who are always honest and transparent about their opinions and approaches, and can count on each other to help everyone stay on top of their game.

Do you have any suggestions for students who are about to graduate from
school?

Don’t be afraid to embark on an adventure. You are young and equipped with one of the world’s best educations, so you should not be afraid to leave your comfort zone. In life, there is no guarantee that a decision will turn out exactly how you had envisioned it. Sometimes the best things in life are beyond your imagination, and you may miss out on many opportunities if you always go with the conventional option.

We hope you will consider joining us at the ASUS Robotics & AI Center. When you become part of our team, you are not only taking the first step of an exciting adventure, you are also making an investment in yourself for a bright and rewarding future.