Building technology that doesn’t yet exist requires equal parts technical rigor, creativity and trust in your team. As senior software engineering manager for Risk and Compliance Software, Minerva Pajunen leads UL Solutions’ Benchmarks engineering team at the forefront of performance testing — developing tools that help define industry standards before products ever reach the market. From GPU benchmarking to motion capture studios, her work blends advanced engineering with a passion for people and progress.
“I get to collaborate with highly intelligent engineers every day, and it’s truly inspiring.”
What’s the most interesting or exciting aspect of your role?
On the Benchmarks team at UL Solutions, we work with cutting edge technology, such as AI. We design and run tests to measure the performance of computer components — often for technologies that don’t even exist on the market yet. That means our engineers help define the requirements from scratch and begin building something entirely new.
The people I work with are incredibly passionate about technology, especially when it comes to accuracy, scalability and reliability. I get to collaborate with highly intelligent engineers every day, and it’s truly inspiring.
Can you share some of the coolest things you’ve been a part of at UL Solutions?
One of our consumer products, 3DMark, uses game like scenarios to put heavy loads on GPUs (graphics processing units). Many of our animations are created in house, but we also take advantage of motion capture technology, which is widely used in the gaming and film industries.
We rented a motion capture studio for a day to create animations for our newest — and future — benchmarks. I even got to be an actor myself, and I’ve already seen my character appear on screen in an upcoming benchmark release.
What are your future ambitions at UL Solutions?
I want Procyon and 3DMark to be widely recognized and publicly associated with the best benchmarking tools in the world. My goal is for us to build products that deliver real value to customers while driving sustainable growth for the business.
Just as importantly, I want my team to feel that this is the best place to work. I’m committed to supporting process improvements and cross team collaboration to help us reach our goals together.
Why did you join UL Solutions?
In my previous role, I was contacted by someone from UL Talent & Acquisition about a project manager position on the Benchmarks team. I found the business very interesting but ultimately turned down the opportunity because I was happy where I was and felt it was important to finish my work there.
About a year later, the company I was with began shutting down its office in Finland. I remembered that earlier conversation with UL Solutions, and despite the challenges many businesses were facing during COVID, the position was still open. I interviewed and joined UL Solutions as a project manager and team lead. After a year, I was offered the opportunity to lead the development team.
I’m very grateful for the opportunities I’ve been given and feel incredibly lucky to be in my current role — though my husband likes to remind me that I work hard to earn that luck. Later, I was able to hire additional project management support, which allowed me to focus fully on my role.
What keeps you here?
I love the variety in my work. I’m constantly learning — whether it’s about finance, legal considerations, technical architecture, cybersecurity or hardware. Every day brings something new.
I also see significant opportunities for our business to grow, and it’s exciting to be part of that journey. UL Solutions’ long history adds a sense of stability and reliability, especially in uncertain times.
Most of all, I enjoy working with people. In addition to my team of more than 30, there’s a broader organization filled with skilled colleagues I can turn to for guidance. I always feel safe asking questions and learning from others. In a large company like UL Solutions, you’re never alone.