Who I am
I'm Niklas Buchfink, a social design engineer who focuses his skills on co-imagine the future and co-design the path towards it. Design for me is world-making. It's not about the product or service itself, but about the impact it evokes.
How I Work
1 | See the bigger picture
Research across disciplines to get a deep understanding of the problem and the system behind it.
2 | Design solutions
Using design thinking process, related methods and iterations to identify the best approaches.
3 | Make them tangible
Design, prototype and test together. Then make it happen.
Work Experience
Design Engineer
Mar. 2023 - Aug. 2025
As one of the first employees at Opral, I was responsible for the full product design, development, and distribution of tools that make version control and localization accessible to new user groups. I developed the Fink localization editor for inlang, the lix file manager and Flashtype — an AI-powered document editor with built-in version control.
Design Intern in Design & Web Development
Aug. 2021 - Jan. 2022
Internship in user experience design and user interface design as well as some programming tasks for web development.
Student thesis supervisor
Oct. 2019 - June 2020
During my first studies I started to develop an analog synthesizer. This project was continued by students and supervised by me
Working Student in Software Development
Nov. 2019 - Apr. 2020
Programming of a script application for the automation of software test containers.
Dual Student in Electrical Engineering
Oct. 2016 - Sept. 2019
Development of a transmission sound generator, a sound-light visualization, programming of a dynamic driving sound for electric cars and the implementation of the control logic of an acoustic comfort function.
Education
Eco Social Design (M.A.)
Sept. 2025 - Today
Designing solutions for the wellbeing of present and future communities and contribute to eco-social transformation.
Digital Ideation (Exchange)
Feb. 2022 - July 2022
Exchange semester focused on contemporary and future-oriented design education in the field of information technology.
Interaction Design (B.A.)
Oct. 2019 - Feb. 2023
The degree program combines user experience design, interface design, and interaction design. The methods of human centered design and design thinking are taught and applied in semester projects.
Electrical Engineering (B.Eng.)
Oct. 2016 - Oct. 2019
The dual study program includes theoretical content at the university, which was then applied in practical semesters at my partner company Daimler AG. The focus is on electromobility, mechatronic systems and diagnostics.
Free Time
Music Everywhere
Music plays a big role in my life. Since 2016 I'm a vinyl deejay and it fulfills me to make people dance with different music styles. I also have a small home studio and taught myself how to play guitar.
Outdoors every day
I love spending time in nature, whether at the beach, by a lake, in the forest, or in the mountains. I run and cycle on a daily basis. My vacations include activities such as hiking, skiing, surfing and camping.