Professional appointments

Current role and title

Currently working in the DPA’s headquarters in Bristol as an Electrical Safety Advisor within the Defence Ordnance Safety Group (DOSG), a support group within the MOD, I provide advice on electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and RF Radiation Hazards (RADHAZ) to ordnance, (explosives). I am also starting to get involved in the assessment of lightning protection systems for ordnance process and storage buildings at military establishments.

What attracted you to DESG:

The vast amount of training and opportunities to work and travel domestically, and internationally, along with being part of an organisation that makes a difference in the world convinced me to apply for a position on the graduate scheme.

Highlights of your career to date:

I’ve had many great experiences since joining the MoD. Probably the most memorable is the 7 months I spent working at a US Naval Base in Maryland, just north of Washington, DC, where I helped develop a new portable data logging system, to capture and analyse motions of ships while at sea. I then got to trial the equipment off the cost of Fort Lauderdale in Florida and at a naval base in Virginia where both trials were a success. I’ve also worked at RAF bases where I’ve stood next to the runway as a squadron of Tornado jets took off and just recently I was sent to Philadelphia for a week for an explosives course.

What you hope to achieve in the future:

I aim to be chartered within the next 2 to 3 years and to become an expert/focal point for MoD and industry in the technical areas I’m working in. Although having written this, the great thing about the MoD is that you don’t have to set your future in stone; there are so many opportunities to diversify into different areas that the world is truly your oyster.

What advice would you give someone thinking of a career in the MOD:

Hopefully what I’ve said above will help show that a career in the MoD as an engineer is a fantastic one. There are many good graduate schemes out there but there are no companies that can invest in your future in terms of time, money and support, greater than the MoD. In terms of relocating, I was a bit worried about moving from Glasgow, where I’d spent my whole life, to Bristol, but you will find that there are hundreds of people in the same boat and making friends is no problem or finding accommodation is no problem.