Qusai Masharqa: From mechanical engineering student to project manager at just 30 years of age

An early morning in Würzburg

At 30 years of age, Qusai Masharqa coordinates international teams and works for clients such as Tesla, Stellantis N.V. and the Ford Motor Company. This morning, we are sitting in a small café in Würzburg. It's bitterly cold outside, and there's not much time inside – he has to get to work soon. A cup of coffee, a brief moment of calm. Then he begins to talk.

Qusai is an alumnus of the German Jordanian University (GJU), where he studied mechanical engineering, and is now a project manager at Brose Fahrzeugteile SE & Co. KG in Würzburg. His career path seems steep – and yet it is anything but a matter of course.

The journey to Germany

After just a few minutes, I notice how exceptionally well Qusai speaks German. So well, in fact, that as a native speaker, I briefly wonder whether I am really linguistically superior to him. His manner of expression is precise, calm and reflective. It quickly becomes clear that language was never just a means to an end for him.

Qusai was born in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. After school, he first tried to get a place at university there. He attached great importance to the quality and international recognition of the university – he would even have accepted high tuition fees. But none of the universities appealed to him. The turning point finally came with a tip from his father: the German Jordanian University in Jordan.

At the GJU, Qusai was particularly fascinated by the compulsory German Year. The combination of theory and application, internationality and language convinced him immediately. He knew early on that learning languages came easily to him and that he enjoyed expressing himself precisely and confidently. Even during his studies, he stood out not only for his academic achievements in mechanical engineering, but also for his remarkable talent for languages.

His first stay in Germany was made possible by a language scholarship. He attended intensive courses at Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences for a month. He was not particularly fond of the place itself, but he returned to Jordan with a significantly expanded vocabulary – so large that he even began teaching German to relatives.

In 2014/2015, Qusai received another scholarship, initiated by the current Vice President for Academic Excellence at GJU, Prof. Dr. Iyas Khader. This time, the focus was clearly on professional development in the field of mechanical engineering. During this time, he got to know several German cities, but Karlsruhe in particular left a lasting impression on him. He was not only impressed by the city itself, but also by the palpable spirit of research, shaped by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the university landscape.

Back at GJU, Qusai did not wait around. On his own initiative, he approached the then exchange coordinator and current president of the university, Prof. Dr. Prof. Ala'aldeen Al-Halhouli, and asked whether it would be possible to complete a university semester in Karlsruhe during the upcoming German Year. Even today, Qusai raves about the close integration of theory and practice that he was able to experience there – especially through the numerous insights into companies.

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Career in the automotive Industry

The next step took him to Stuttgart. At MAHLE GmbH, he specialised in refrigeration and air conditioning technology in the automotive industry – a field that had a lasting impact on him and inspired him.

“My career then took me from one competitor to another in the air conditioning technology business,” he says with a smile. “This impressed Brose so much that they poached me straight from DENSO Corporation, the world’s second-largest automotive supplier.”

While working at DENSO Corporation, Qusai completed his master's degree part-time and gained further valuable experience as a project engineer. Eventually, his path took him from Munich to Würzburg – not because of the city, but because of the next career opportunity. At Brose, at the age of just 26, he was given the opportunity to work as a project manager in a highly responsible area. A few months later, he was promoted to senior project manager for one of the company's largest projects.

‘At just 30 years of age, I had the opportunity to support customers such as Tesla, Stellantis N.V. and the Ford Motor Company in the field of engine air conditioning,’ says Qusai. ‘I coordinate international teams worldwide.’

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A phrase that sticks

Towards the end of our conversation, he becomes pensive.

‘You know, Lisa,’ he says, ‘in Jordan we have a saying: the stranger is blind. Just like you here in Würzburg – you're here for the first time, you perceive everything more intensely and have to find your own way around. You're forced to take matters into your own hands.’ That's exactly how he experienced Germany, he explains – and that's how he still feels today when he learns something new.

Ambitious yet down-to-earth, Qusai sums up his career with a single word – a word that perfectly reflects his modest attitude:

Al-Hamdulillah – God willing / Thank God!

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