“You can't just stick an antenna in a small device and take the datasheet numbers for granted.”
That's Tao Daniel's answer when asked what people most often misunderstand about his field. As an Account Manager at Radientum, Tao works where a device's specifications meet the real world, and helping product companies close that gap is a big part of successful wireless product development.
“I help product companies find the right development solutions for their wireless devices,” he explains. “The idea is to figure out what needs attention and then find the best way to fix it. After that, our engineers take over.”
| Behind the Signal is our new series introducing people behind Radientum. You will get a peek of their expertise, their view of the wireless industry and what working at Radientum looks like from the inside. Tao Daniel, Account Manager at our Tampere headquarters, is the first one introduced. |
“Name's Tao. I'm a French guy living in Finland,” is how he introduces himself. “I studied engineering in high school, then went into business, and now I'm somewhere in between.”
Before joining Radientum, Tao spent six years in Lapland working in customer relationships, operations management and team leadership. Wanting to get back to something closer to his technical background, he joined Radientum as an Account Manager.
What drew him to the field was the devices themselves. “Cool devices,” he says, “the kind that make the conversation instantly interesting just from the use case.”
The deciding factor in joining was the atmosphere. “I had almost never met a CEO that outgoing and enthusiastic about his own business, and about bringing new young people into his team,” Tao says. “That felt very different from how HR is usually involved in recruitment.”
It's a good glimpse of the team he joined: small enough that everyone's work has a visible impact and experienced enough that you're surrounded by people who know the craft deeply.
Tao is clear about where his role fits. “I'm not the one who makes the background magic that makes things work,” he says. “But I do enjoy working with our collaborators to make sure the device actually works in the intended use case.”
He calls it ‘use case optimization’. A device that performs well on the test bench still has to perform on a wrist, in a pocket or wherever it ends up, and keeping that use case in focus is a big part of his job.
One challenge he enjoys solving is finding the right balance between what the customer expects and what the engineers can deliver.
“Many times we're involved in projects where our collaborators are dreaming big, and they should. Instead of breaking those dreams with the harsh reality of the laws of physics, I like to think of ways to maximize the customer's vision within what's possible, so that the innovation is always pushed to its maximum.”
For a CTO or product manager, the practical lesson is to agree early on which parts of the vision are fixed and where there is room to adjust, whether that's size, materials or antenna placement.
For Tao, his own success is measured by the customer's success. “I have a pretty good track record of new and happy customers. To me a new customer means we're able to help yet another company that wasn't working with us before, and that had a problem that wasn't solved. Concluding a project with happy feedback is what matters most to me. The rest is secondary.”
Ask Tao which topic he could talk about for hours, and he picks the basics of building a wearable and making it a viable business case. That mix of engineering and business is what he plans to bring to his content.
“I want to give real advice on how to make sound decisions when it comes to building a competitive and high-performing wireless product,” he says. He wants to skip the cliché, overused business content and speak directly to the people making those decisions: startup CEOs, CTOs at companies of all sizes, engineering managers, product managers and project managers.
For him, authentic expert content comes down to transparency and tone. “Of course the technical content should be accurate, but what really matters is what you make of it and what the agenda behind it is. If it's genuine and educational, then that's about it.”
On where the industry is heading: “I'd say we're reaching a point of technology limitation, where companies are looking for new protocols and frequencies to tap into features that the most popular ones, like LTE, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GNSS, can't achieve. Finding a specific use for that new potential is what will create the trends of tomorrow.”
So what can readers expect from him? “No BS, just facts and my humble opinion.”
For students and professionals heading into antenna, RF, EMC or EMI work, Tao keeps his advice short. “Never stop learning, and don't underestimate your potential. Be curious, ask, and dare to believe you're knowledgeable yourself.”
The thing he wishes he had learned sooner? “Social and communication skills are the most important skills you can learn, no matter your position. There's nothing more valuable than knowing how to make yourself understood, and how to understand others.”
Looking ahead, he puts literacy, including AI literacy, at the top of the list. “The most important skill will always be literacy: being able to understand things and work with them. I see people doing vibe coding, vibe designing, vibe working. Knowing how things work and being able to tell whether something is true or not is what will really make a difference.”
It's a mindset that fits RF engineering well, where simulation results are routinely checked against measurements.
Outside work, Tao reads, plays strategy games, works out and listens to the same five metal bands. The hobby that surprises people is Gwent, the strategy card game from The Witcher universe, which he plays very, very well according to himself.
His book tip comes from his business studies. “It's going to sound cliché, but Rich Dad Poor Dad was mind-opening.” For sales, he recommends the work of sales trainer Jeremy Miner.
And what keeps him going when things get tough? “Mostly knowing that I can improve my own standard. If something is challenging, that just means I haven't mastered that topic or skill yet. Being in a situation where I have to go through with it means I must improve myself and learn to solve it.”
🔹 Treat antenna datasheet numbers as a starting point and verify performance in the actual device.
🔹 Define the use case early, since where and how the device is used decides what good performance means.
🔹 Dream big, then fit the vision to physics by agreeing early which features are fixed and what can flex.
🔹 When exploring new protocols or frequencies, start from the specific use the new capability makes possible.
🔹 If you're starting out in RF, invest in communication skills as much as technical ones, and keep asking questions.
Developing a wearable or another compact wireless device and wondering whether it will perform where it's actually used? Get in touch with Tao on LinkedIn or by email. As he puts it, “I'm very responsive.” You'll find his contact details below.
Interested in building your career in antenna, RF or EMC engineering? Take a look at our careers page.
Behind the Signal continues with three more Radientum brand ambassadors. Subscribe to our newsletter so you don't miss the next one.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the interviewee and the author.