Seiko Engineer: Dream Job?

Thanks to Roba of TZ for the link.

IEEE Spectrum: Kunio Koike: Real Time: "When video-game entrepreneur Richard Garriott blasted off on his US $30 million space ride last October, he carried into orbit a remarkable piece of advanced technology: his wristwatch. Not any wristwatch, mind you, but a Seiko Spring Drive electromechanical timepiece, specially modified to be lightweight and work in zero gravity and fitted with an extralong Velcro strap to circle Garriott’s padded space suit. Kunio Koike knows that watch better than just about anyone, because he helped design its ultralow-power, battery-less, motorless mechanism. As head of the watch-products development department at Seiko, he engineers the exquisite electronics that go into the company’s highest-end watches."