What is your current role?
Senior Hardware Technician
What was the journey you took to get into your current role?
I began my journey at Leonardo as a technical apprentice at the age of 16, my first ever job straight from GCSEs. My favourite subject at school was always design and technology, I was fortunate that my school offered electronics as a GCSE and I knew this was what I wanted to work in in the future. As a technical apprentice, I had the opportunity to move around the business at Luton, working in departments such as Systems Engineering, Quality Assurance, Software, Obsolescence and finally Hardware Engineering, which is where I did my final placement and decided to stay and progress my career.
After completing my apprenticeship and achieving a level 3 BTEC, I continued as a permanent hardware technician and applied for the part-time degree scheme to develop my skills further. Shortly after becoming a hardware technician, I was promoted to senior hardware technician, which is my current role today, and I am currently in my final year at university.
Why did you decide to upskill at Leonardo?
During my final year of the technical apprenticeship, I worked full time in hardware engineering supporting the Typhoon ECRS MK2 Radar. I thoroughly enjoyed this period where I had the opportunity to work with experienced engineers and grasp how we go from concept to product, though I did not have the pressure of delivering to the customer because I was still an apprentice. My love of electronics was confirmed during this time, and I saw the part-time degree as the perfect opportunity to continue developing my skills in the area.
The Electronic and Electrical Engineering degree, provided by the University of Hertfordshire and sponsored by Leonardo, perfectly complements the role of a hardware engineer and has helped me understand the design processes we adopt at Leonardo. The company has supported me throughout my progression so far, not only paying for the time I spend at university, but also providing additional training courses. Recently I attended a training course at the University of Oxford to learn about PCB design and signal integrity – just another example of how Leonardo invests in its people to develop skills and capability.
As a former apprentice, what are the benefits to taking that route?
By far the biggest benefit of my technical apprenticeship is that since the age of 16 I have been constantly progressing skills that are directly relevant to working as an engineer. By completing my studies part time in conjunction with working at Leonardo, I have gained experience doing a job that is exactly what I want to do and am passionate about, whilst building valuable knowledge and skills. I have also worked towards recognised qualifications such as a BTEC and bachelor’s degree, the best of both worlds in my eyes.
The alternative route of A-levels and full-time university allows you to gain qualifications that are applicable to a broad range of jobs and industries but doesn’t necessarily progress your practical skills as much, since you are not getting real world experience. The apprenticeship route is an amazing option for anyone wanting to have an engineering career. Many of my colleagues who are now experienced senior engineers originated as apprentices and are fond of the path they took to get there.
What does a typical day look like in your role?
My typical day involves a mix of completing design work, doing practical testing in the lab and writing documentation. Let’s take a look at what I did on Wednesday this week:
I arrived at work at 8:30 and settled at my desk before looking at what I want to achieve for the day. Recently, a circuit board that I designed was manufactured and delivered to us to be tested for the first time, this is quite exciting for me because I’ve been working on this circuit board for last 2 years, and this is the moment I get to see if it works. I spent most of the morning in the lab, setting up equipment such as oscilloscopes and signal generators and connecting them to the board. Fortunately, the initial testing was successful, and I can breathe easy!
After lunch, I headed down to a new laboratory where we have set up PCB prototyping equipment, which we can use to create simple circuit board extremely quickly. I had the opportunity to be one of the expert users of this equipment and I was showing another engineer how to use the equipment to print a circuit board they had designed. We switched on the large laser machine, used to create copper traces, and began the process of etching and cutting a PCB layer. I also attended a team meeting in the afternoon to update my manager on my progress from the last few days.
Finally, I worked at my desk to write up a test report on the testing I completed in the morning.
Working in hardware engineering, I am constantly communicating with engineers in my team and other disciplines such as mechanical, software and firmware engineering. I think it’s a very rewarding role, especially when a design you worked on is materialised. I’m very appreciative of all the people I get to work with and the products I get to work on, it’s definitely a product of my path from being an apprentice.
What is your greatest achievement at Leonardo so far?
Over the 6 years I’ve spent at Leonardo now I’ve had a lot of memorable experiences and achieved many things that are important to me.
One achievement that will always stick with me was completing flight trials on a new piece of equipment a couple of years ago. Working in a team with just 2 other people, we spent multiple months in the lab testing and adjusting a new box that needed to be proven in flight. After 6 months of testing, extensive planning, and travelling to Sywell Aerodrome to fit our equipment onto a Piper PA-31 Navajo plane (known as the flying tractor!) with the help of 2Excell, I got to fly in the Navajo and test the equipment in a real-world scenario. Sitting in the back of the very noisy and cramped aircraft, next to a massive test jig we had bolted down, I ran tests and communicated with the pilot to collect data on how the equipment performed. The flight trials turned out to be very successful and recognised throughout the project.
Whilst this isn’t a traditional academic achievement, I think I was able to contribute to this project and work with the other engineers to achieve the successful flight trials as a result of the experience I gained from doing my apprenticeship.
Are there any hobbies you take part in outside of your apprenticeship?
I think my passion for electronics extends further than my job role, I’ve recently started collecting old broken coffee machines and fixing them up ready for a new home. I also love playing the piano, and I gained a skydiving license last year, so I occasionally visit the drop zone if I’m in the mood for something exhilarating.
I enjoy challenging myself, especially with endurance challenges, in 2024 I organised the 24-hour three peaks challenge with an amazing team from Leonardo, and we smashed it. I also partook in the SAS fan dance last year and plan to help with the three peaks challenge again this year.
What are your aspirations for the future?
In the coming years I’d like to develop my skills within hardware engineering, I’d like to achieve the role of hardware engineer and hopefully move up the roles.
Whilst working in hardware engineering, I’ve had the opportunity to be the placement manager for degree apprentices who have started at the company. Coming from being an apprentice myself, I now get to help new apprentices develop their skills and knowledge, it’s extremely rewarding to see them progress and learn about what we do. I think I’d like to take this managerial role further, maybe moving into an engineering management role in the future. I’m always looking for new opportunities to develop and move in the path that I enjoy most.