Pegah’s story: From semiconductors to a sense of home

“I never imagined myself living here for this long.”

When Pegah Bahramiani moved from Iran to the Netherlands, the plan was simple: get her master’s degree. She had a scholarship, but no grand plan to build a completely new life here. Pegah now lives in Delft and works as a software architect at semiconductor company Qualinx, located at NEXT Delft, a scale-up community building. 

What started with a study slowly became a career, friends and, eventually, a home.

“Initially, it was all because of a study,” she says. “And honestly, I never imagined myself living here for this long.”

It started with puzzles

As a child, Pegah loved puzzles. She still does. Her father introduced her to programming when she was young, and she recognised the same feeling: there is a problem in front of you and you slowly work your way towards the answer.

“That feeling of being able to solve problems is what I enjoy a lot,” she says. “And now I’m doing it for my career, which is nice.”

These days, the puzzles are a little more complicated.

At Qualinx, Pegah works on ultra-low-power technology for satellite positioning. Think of the little dot showing your location on your phone. Making that work in devices with limited battery power is much more complex than it looks, with security and privacy part of the equation too.

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As a software architect, she works between different technical worlds. Hardware engineers, radiofrequency experts and software engineers all bring their own expertise, and her role is to understand how everything fits together.

“My role is not necessarily just the deep, low-level implementation,” she explains. “It’s also very important to keep that helicopter view.”

In a way, she is still doing what she loved as a kid: figuring out how all the pieces fit.

Finding the right place for that career

South Holland was not Pegah’s first stop in the Netherlands. She studied in Eindhoven, but as her career developed, she increasingly found what she was looking for around Delft.

What attracted her was the combination within a relatively small area: The technical university TU Delft, research organisations such as TNO, startup hubs such as YES!Delft, deep-tech companies and people working across physics, aerospace, hardware, systems and software.

“You need people from different expertise,” she says. “All the things that you need for a deep-tech ecosystem.”

When Pegah joined Qualinx around three years ago, the company was much smaller and still had a real startup feel. Today, it is moving towards production and growing around the technology.

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The team itself is remarkably international, something Pegah values. As a woman in a still heavily male-dominated field, she has also noticed the number of women working in high tech at Qualinx.

“You can collaborate a lot, and you can learn from different cultures as well. That’s what I enjoy a lot.”

Five minutes from semiconductors to coffee

Pegah recently moved from The Hague to Delft and likes how quickly she can switch between two different worlds.

“What I enjoy very much in Delft is the fact that you can have your work here, but with a five-minute cycle you are in a very historic, cosy centre. You can enjoy a coffee with friends.”

After a day surrounded by semiconductor technology, five minutes on a bike gets her to canals, old streets and cafés. The Hague, Rotterdam and the coast are all close too.

Pegah likes to keep busy. “Most of the time after work you can find me in the gym.” Otherwise, she might be doing an escape room with friends, trying a restaurant or heading out for a hike around The Hague.

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Finding the right Persian restaurant is apparently still a work in progress. A few options come up during the interview, with mixed reviews. There may still be a favourite out there that Pegah has not tried yet.

A career is only part of the story

Having worked in both Iran and the Netherlands, work-life balance is one of the differences Pegah noticed most.

“Here, it’s not that the major part of your life is just working,” she says. “You can still very much enjoy your freedom, your vacations.”

Before moving, Pegah had considered the United States as well as Europe. Looking back, she is happy she chose Europe. She likes having a serious career while still having time for friends, travelling and life outside work.

Building a home from zero

Pegah does not romanticise moving abroad. Your family and familiar surroundings are somewhere else, and parts of your identity are tied to the place you left behind.

“You have to build very much from zero.”

For Pegah, that happened gradually. She made friends, built a career and created a life here.

“It was gradual for me,” she says. “I started building those connections, the friends, the work, the life.”

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Eventually, the way she imagined her future changed.

“If I now imagine my future, I mainly imagine it in the Netherlands. It’s my home now.”

Perhaps that says more about working in South Holland than any list of career opportunities could.

Pegah came for a degree and found a career in deep tech, a home in Delft, friends, five-minute bike rides for coffee and a life that grew around the job. Her advice to someone considering working in South Holland and making a similar move?

“Just don’t overthink it and give it a try.”