Story

Meet Jamie - Engineering Apprentice to Project Lead

Engineering project lead Jamie solves complex puzzles here every day, and career development has never been a problem.

What does your job involve?

On a day-to-day basis, I act as project lead. This means looking after the budget and timeline of a project, to ensure we deliver on time, on cost, on quality. My team develops the software and products behind our weapons system simulations.

How has your career grown since you joined MBDA?

I started here as a mechanical engineering apprentice, so my journey has been really varied. I did nine placements on the apprenticeship, and ended up in an area to do with trials and testing. I worked there for a few years on a specific project before deciding I wanted to expand my role into verification and validation. Through that, I managed to get into a role that was systems project-based, and I found I really enjoyed the project management side of things.

The role I have now is the perfect mix of project management and systems. I oversee the requirements and delivery, rather than actually doing them.

What part of your role do you find the most enjoyable?

I really enjoy the puzzle-solving. Every day’s a little bit of a challenge, with a new problem to sort out. My whole goal is to help my team deliver software – those end products in boxes, effectively. I love that sense of achievement in successful delivery.

Apart from the work itself, what do you think makes working here unique?

One of the things I’ve found special here is the commitment to growing and improving the culture. We’ve grown a lot over recent years, and we do so much to make sure our new joiners feel included and are supported to develop. We want each other to do well, at the end of the day.