Normally I log on about 8.30am but I always try and do some exercise beforehand. By the end of the day it’s a case of ‘no, not doing that’ so I have to do it then or it just won’t get done. And so I normally get up about 6am and go and do some form of exercise – be that a bit of yoga, or swimming in the local lido near where I live in London.
After that, though, I log on and start work. It’s currently something of a split role. I work closely with Jessica Regan as a scrum master for a couple of the space projects that BAE Systems is working on. A scrum master is someone who facilitates and drives a team of engineers and developers and is normally rooted in software development.
And so this means I organise meetings, give guidance and direction around future work to enable the team to come up with their own plans and priorities. It means diplomatic communication is important – it involves managing expectations and knowing how to communicate best with different teams and stakeholders.
Even though the role means I sit back from the day-to-day roles of the engineers, I’m someone who likes to understand every element of something and how it works, as I think this helps me do my job better. But I also do quite a few junior project manager functions, encompassing things like strategy, team structures, skills gaps – things that sit outside of the traditional scrum master domain.
I joined BAE Systems about a year ago as part of the company’s graduate trainee scheme but before that I was a project manager at Formula One in Schools which is a not-for-profit company set up to strengthen STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) skills for children around the world – it runs a global competition in which groups of students have to design and manufacture a miniature car. It’s basically a CSR programme for Formula One.
Unfortunately, I was made redundant during the Covid pandemic and so I decided to do a new job which required more technical skills and that’s how I ended up at BAE Systems.
In terms of where I work, I mix and match. So every Tuesday is what I call ‘engineers day’ where I go to either our offices in Guildford or Great Baddow to see and check in with the engineers who work on the projects I’m on. I really like that opportunity to have face-to-face interaction. I’m very much a people person and I get a lot of energy from engaging with people in the flesh.
I honestly think work should be enjoyed – I want to radiate that energy. We spend so much time at work and I don’t want to be in a grumpy mood with the people I work with, so why not make it fun and engaging? Hopefully this approach works well and doesn’t annoy too many of my engineers!
For example, with managers I am more of a cheerleader for the team, so although it’s a bit more formal, I’m always pushing the positive. But even then one of the things I really like about BAE Systems is that the hierarchy here is very relaxed – I don’t feel it, I don’t ever feel intimidated by someone of higher rank; it’s a very level playing field.
I also really like how every day here varies quite a lot. I always have lots of different task going on at the same time but the mornings usually start with a stand up call with my engineers – it’s a chance to catch up and for them to let me know if they need anything from me. If all is fine then I can crack on with other things such as reporting, integrating with colleagues from In-Space Missions, and so on.
I also lead our Bristol University engagement, so if they have an event going on I go along to that. I’m extremely passionate about STEM and outreach; stemming from my early career and personal participation in STEM outreach. There is definitely a gap in the space industry that I want to try and help close via things like apprenticeships and other training schemes.
Not everyone has the same opportunities and so I particularly like focusing on harder to reach disadvantaged communities. I think when you’re at school I don’t think you tend to know the full range of jobs on offered through STEM. Recruiting only at university is just too late – people often decide what they want to do before then without even knowing what is out there.
If I’m in the office at lunchtime I tend to head out and pick up a salad somewhere locally – undoing any good work by adding in chicken, humus, cheese and falafel. The afternoon tends to be similar to the morning in that there will be a variety of meetings, calls and reports to work on.
I tend to log off about 5.30pm – working past 6pm is incredibly rare. The culture here in terms of work-life balance is phenomenal. I remember one time when I sent an email at about 7pm and someone senior to me replied and queried why I was working so late – what a lovely thing to hear from a boss!
And so this means I normally have plenty of time to do other things after work. Together with my housemate Tess, my best friend from university, we have a dog and I like to take her for a walk in the local park – especially in the nice summer evenings we’ve had this year.
There’s no better way to round out a day.
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We have been working in this ‘Space’ for more than two decades. We have specialist technologies in waveforms, electronics, antenna and digital signal processing and analytics with 20 years in ground based signal processing for various space agencies.