Why Meggitt?
The primary reason why I joined Meggitt was because the technology created here often requires materials to withstand extreme environments; for example within the engine of an aircraft which presents challenging and rewarding projects for a material engineer like me. Considering that 90% of Western aircrafts are equipped with Meggitt products, there’s a very high chance that if I go on a plane, the products we create are helping to make safe flight possible; this is also amazing and contributed to my choice to come to Meggitt. Another reason is that the friendly but driven company culture really stood out to me during the interviews and site-visit.
What do you enjoy most?
The best thing about the program is that you get to sample many areas of the business and meet so many new people. The opportunities for technical learning and networking are endless!
My placements
I have completed a placement in San Diego on engine composites and am currently in my second placement at Simi Valley working on high-temperature air leak detection sensor development.
My best memory to date
My best Meggitt memory so far is presenting my completed project with directors and company leaders to showcase the work that I have done.
Why Meggitt?
I chose Meggitt out of university due to its emphasis on developing young engineers along with its broad, innovative product lines. The graduate programme in particular jumped out to me as it enables me to take on numerous roles focusing on different products. As a young engineer, I believe this experience is vital to choosing my optimal career path.
What’s the best thing about the programme?
The best part of the graduate programme is the community. Pursuing a programme that requires moving to new locations, and even to a new country, every nine months requires a strong support system to be successful. Amongst the graduates, site managers and leaders, and the steering committee, I have always found the aid I need both at and outside of work.
My placements
My first placement was in Akron, OH in the Friction Materials AR&T team. I am currently on placement in North Hollywood, CA on the Sustaining team.
Most memorable moment to date?
My best Meggitt memory so far has been meeting a few of my fellow cohort colleagues in person. Due to Covid-19, some of the staple graduate events had to be altered to become remote events. While we were able to develop great relationships online, meeting in person instead of through WebEx or group chat was awesome!
Why did you choose Meggitt?
My main focus when I left university was to join the Aerospace and Defence sectors. Meggitt stood out compared to other potential employers because of the diversified opportunities that offers in these sectors and the ability to explore different roles within technical and business functions. The global outlook of the company which transfers to the graduate programme, since it enables you to work at sites either in Europe, US or the Asia-Pacific region, also contributed to my decision to join Meggitt as I wanted to expose myself to challenging international opportunities and learn how to adapt in different working cultures.
What is the best thing about the Meggitt graduate programme?
The programme is unique because of the size of the graduate cohorts. Approximately 15 graduates join the company each year and we all get assigned a business mentor who helps us navigate career decisions and potential placements within the scheme. There is also a very strong sense of community between the graduates and we all have a strong network which helps us during placement transitioning. The best thing about the programme is the duration of the placements and the importance of your role for the team as you’re given real responsibility and you’re expected to deliver high-quality work. The 9-month period allows you to make and impact and contribute to the company’s success.
What placements have you completed so far?
Earlier this year I completed my first placement as a Lean Operations Engineer, working for two sites of Meggitt, in Coventry and Birmingham. I had the chance to work on exciting projects such as the Airbus A220 Braking System and a variety of Heat Exchangers fitted in commercial and military aircraft. My role included resolving challenging production issues and improving operational performance. Currently, I am in my second placement working as an Operations and Process Excellence Leader ensuring the Ansty Park Facility enables results at all levels and the various functions work effectively while implementing best practices.
Describe your best moment at Meggitt so far?
One of the best moments so far was when I obtained my Green Belt after completing a lengthy and challenging project which resulted in significant improvements for a family of products of the Thermal Management product group. Quantifying the impact of my work into financial improvements was definitely a high point and it enabled me to build my credibility. Another great moment was interviewing the CFO of the company, as part of the Young Professionals Employee Resource Group. She shared advice and important information that I will carry with me into my future career and I had the chance to share that with my network in Meggitt.
Why did you choose Meggitt?
During my final year of university, I knew that I wanted to go onto a graduate programme as I liked the idea of trying different roles. The Meggitt programme stood out to me because of the flexible nature of the programme; the vast product range means that graduates can trial several interests or technical specialties even a non-technical placement. The small number of intakes meant that the graduate steering committee can really personalise the experience for each of us. The length of each placement is ideal as well, long enough to really get involved in a project but not too long.
What is your favourite thing about the graduate programme?
The best thing for me is the amount of support available. As part of the programme, we all have a business mentor as well as a professional development mentor, who both support in different aspects of my growth ensuring I’m getting the right opportunities and work but are also genuinely great people to talk to. In addition to this, I have a placement manager as well as the graduate programme coordinator that I can talk to at any time. The steering committee for the programme is invested in our wellbeing and are accessible despite being senior leaders in the business. Lastly, I cannot forget the graduate community within Meggitt – this is a fantastic network, cohorts past and present are always eager to help in any way they can.
What placements have you completed?
I did my first placement at our composites site in Stevenage. I worked with different teams across the site from manufacturing engineering to microwave design. During this placement I learned a lot of things from programming and CAD Design to preparing proposal documents to support commercial bids. I have just started a new placement in additive manufacturing. As before, within my placement I will be doing a variety of things: project management, design, and quality assurance. I like that within a single placement there is still variety.
Describe your best moment so far?
Best moment so far would be when an application I’d been building to demonstrate how a piece of equipment on site could be controlled via LAN cable worked. This was a big achievement having little competency in programming. Meeting some of my cohort and other grads at a BBQ this summer has also been a highlight of my time so far.
Why Meggitt?
I did a placement with Meggitt as part of my undergraduate degree and really enjoyed it. I worked as an engineering intern on sensing technologies for engine systems so I was not too exposed to the other products that Meggitt designed and manufactured. I heard about the graduate scheme through the graduates that I was working with and thought it sounded like a great opportunity. I liked the idea of being able to rotate around the different sites and learn about the innovative technologies and manufacturing technologies and the variation in roles meant I could try different things at the start of my career. Another thing that drew me to Meggitt was the culture and values that is reflected by the people that work at Meggitt, which is important as it provides a positive working environment to grow professionally.
What do you enjoy most about the Meggitt graduate programme?
There are four 9 month rotations, each rotation is tailored to your professional development and career aspirations as well as giving opportunities to explore different areas of the business. One of the best things about the graduate programme is being able to move around, meet new people/teams, learn new technologies and then delivering projects that will make an impact to that business area. By moving around different sites and departments, the graduate programme provides the opportunity to network both internally and externally from Meggitt. The different skills and knowledge that people bring at different sites around the globe can then be integrated to benefit each other.
What placements have you completed?
In my first rotation, I was based in Fareham (UK) working in Avionics. I was part of the Advanced Research and Technology (AR&T) team, looking at model based development systems. As part of this project, I created a model of the algorithm to aid the development of the certification process. As this was my first rotation, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do or what skills I needed, but this role gave me good start and insight to Meggitt.
My second placement was based at Ansty Park and Loughborough(UK). I worked on an AR&T project, investigating a new method of manufacturing polymer seals. Although the majority of this rotation was done from home, I was still able to network with engineers and technology specialists across the globe to successfully deliver this proof of concept project.
In my current placement, I am working on implementing digital technologies onto the production floor. My project investigates how these different technologies can be integrated together to expand their capabilities to benefit our applications on the shop floor.
Describe your best moment at Meggitt so far?
The best moment at Meggitt is definitely meeting, working and socialising with the other graduates through various placements and also during the induction/transition weeks. The professional relationships and friendships that are created are carried through the graduate scheme, providing the space to support each other and share our career development goals and experiences.
My first placement was in Vietnam with a role to support strategic initiatives relating to supply chain including contract negotiations and performance improvement of key suppliers. My second placement was at Divisional Procurement (Airframe Systems). This placement gave me a chance to work with different Procurement Leads within the Division.
I have been involved in a lot of strategic procurement activities including preparing and launching tenders, negotiating contracts, evaluating supplier performance and so on. I was, fortunately, involved in assisting the sourcing for the Ventilator project.
Stepping down as the Procurement Lead for Vietnam site and joining the Graduate Programme has afforded me the opportunity to learn the best practices across different Meggitt sites and gain further professional development.
As part of the professional development, I am working toward MCIPS Chartered Procurement and Supply Professional status.
I was based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and Fareham, United Kindom. I am looking forward to moving to the new facility in Ansty, Coventry.
Absolutely. I have always felt part of any teams that I was in. I had thought that moving from one job to another would be challenging. However, with all the supports from colleagues in the teams, I found myself getting along with work so much easier.
I was tasked to launch a machining tender which involved more than a hundred items. The preparation stage was challenging when I had to work with various departments such as Engineering, Quality, Trade Compliance and Commerce to collocate all required documents. With many supports from colleagues within my team and the bigger Meggitt team, I have successfully launched the tender.
I am keen to learn new things and adopt best practices in my current and next rotation. Afterwards, I am looking forward to get back to Asia and have a permanent job. I see so much potential and opportunities to improve and develop a robust and low-cost supply chain there.