Worked for Schweizerische Landestopographie (1900 - 1907) then at Carl Zeiss, Jena (1908 - 1919) before establishing Wild Heerbrugg, now Leica Geosystems AG (1921 - 1932). Left the company he founded in 1932 and worked freelance for manufacturer Kern and Co. to design a new theodolite. The result was first the DK2, then the DKM3, featuring a mirror-lens telescope with an erect image and a focal length of 430 mm. The new design was adapted to the DKM2 and finally the midget DKM1.