Commercial Navigation Systems
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“Northrop Grumman Sperry Marine feels like a small company that has an international presence.” - Holly Pattison (Surrey, United Kingdom) |
Beng Electronic Engineering (Hons) University of the West of England
Senior Principal Systems Engineer
Electrician and Graduate Engineer
2011
I wanted hands on experience working in the marine industry and decided to go and work in a local boat yard. I was an electrician and my main role was refurbishing military RIB's and luxury yachts. I fitted small radar systems, GPS and autopilots and learnt a huge amount about the common issues and difficulties faced when using these types of products.
During my studies I spent 12 months working for VT Shipbuilding (now BAE Surface Ships) and was involved with a project where Northrop Grumman Sperry Marine was supplying the gyro compasses. This is how I first heard about the company and learned about the product line.
I decided I wanted to work for Northrop Grumman Sperry Marine because it feels like a small company that has an international presence. I always knew I wanted to work in the marine industry as it runs in my family and I felt that Northrop Grumman Sperry Marine offered me a good mix of electrical design and marine experience.
I joined Northrop Grumman Sperry Marine as a graduate in 2011, became an engineer after 12 months and since July 2013 I am a senior engineer. During 2012 I was part of the Future Leaders Programme which is a training programme to develop leadership techniques and also to participate in management sponsored projects. I also completed a 12 month Systems Engineering course run by the University of California. In 2013 I was lucky enough to be awarded the President Leadership Award, which is a Northrop Grumman Division level award for my work on a project for a North Sea ferry.
My recommendations for new graduates would be to work hard and make sure it is something you enjoy doing. I really enjoy my job and that makes me want to do the absolute best I can. It also think it is important to manage yourself and your time well, I currently work on 3 projects simultaneously which means I have to be able to tell the project managers my current workload and availability.