Articles
Beginnings
I came from a long line of military men, and they were all engineers as well. My great-grandfather hand-built his own car and was a bomb-disposal expert for the RAF. My grandfather worked for about four or five different engineering companies, and my Dad wanted to be a pilot or engineer in the Royal Navy but didn’t have the eyesight and ended up working in the logistics branch, so he was a frustrated engineer. I was always going to join the navy – I grew up in Portsmouth and we moved around a lot with the navy. It was only when I got to university that I realised maybe I didn’t want to be in the navy, I wanted to be an engineer.
2005-10, Brunel University London
I was incredibly lucky to go to university – I’m the first in my family but I also failed my A-levels after making a lot of bad choices. Brunel gave me a second chance with a foundation degree in mechanical engineering. I really enjoyed the degree, but not necessarily in a structured way. You think “That’s nice, I wonder if I can take it apart.”
2008-09, Mentor Graphics
It was a great taster for working life – being in an office, getting up every day and being given the responsibility. At the end of it I was offered a job in computational fluid dynamics design, but that fell through due to the financial crisis.
2010-14, Brunel University London
I realised I hadn’t done any physical work, I hadn’t got my hands dirty. The engineering department was advertising open PhDs and I was only going to have a look, but I saw some flame propagation images and was stunned to see what they could do. It was phenomenal to see milliseconds after a spark event. I said “I have to do that,” and ended up staying another three years.
2013-15, Mahle Powertrain
After the PhD I went and became a graduate engineer. I was frustrated that I was moving around the company so much and wasn’t able to just go straight into a particular role or department, but looking back now I realise you get so much more of a rounded experience. The project I enjoyed the most was converting the Mahle-developed three-cylinder engine to run on compressed natural gas and placing it in a car. It was a lot of responsibility on me and I felt rushed off my feet, but I like a lot of work streams. I’ll have five or six different ones at the same time.
2015-17, Advanced Propulsion Centre UK
The Advanced Propulsion Centre is a non-governmental organisation that works to provide funding to the automotive industry. I was administering public money to fund low-carbon technology, and then going to every single company to make sure the public got the maximum value for money. It was great working with big companies but each project had to have a small or medium-sized firm as well, and it was really nice to get some of these companies with maybe 30 employees and connect the dots with a bigger one. I enjoyed that strategic, high-level thinking. You feel like you’re moving the pieces around the board.
2017-Present, Millbrook
Millbrook is relatively new to engine testing, about 20 years now. Maybe five or six years ago, it was slightly behind the curve but the amount of investment has been huge since 2015. I started by running my own performance and economy team, and at the beginning of last year I was made principal engineer and started more of a middle-management role.
I run and manage the ISO 17025-accredited petrochem testing department, testing fuel, additives and lubricants with two engineers and five or six technicians. The test method and hardware are mandated by the Co-ordinating European Council, so we must use these 20-year-old engines. A lot of it is trying to keep those older engines going and keeping to the letter of the method. They don’t make parts for many of the engines any more.
I’m not entirely sure I could have planned my career. I would have looked at it and laughed off getting a PhD. It has been hard but very enjoyable. I have always trusted my gut on when to change big roles, and it’s served me well.
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