Elaine - Mechanical Design Engineer

Meet Elaine, our Mechanical Design Engineer who has worked at ETL for two and a half years. Find out how Elaine's career at ETL has changed & her advice for women interested in a career in engineering.

What is your role at ETL & what are you responsible for?

• In my role at ETL l work as part of a team of mechanical engineers and my responsibilities vary from being involved in the design and development of a range of RF/Electronic modules and equipment. Through to the preparation of detailed technical assembly instructions, producing wiring schematics and the maintenance of product BOM’s. This is done mainly through the creation of CAD models and detailed mechanical drawings.

• Tell us about your engineering journey
• I initially became interested in engineering from watching my Granddad creating large technical drawings by hand, he worked on water pipeline designs for a company in Africa. This inspired me and started me off on my own journey, going onto study technical drawing and engineering with the package Auto-CAD.
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• I was then presented with a job opportunity from a company in Germany, they offered me a two week training course on the CAD package Catia with a possible job to follow. This company took on projects from automotive companies which sparked my interest in wanting to find out more, l decided to go. On the completion of the course they offered me a job, l would be based in their CAD office, working on technical drawings and CAD models using Catia for their design engineers. I decided to take the leap and re-located to Germany, I gained so much from working in an engineering/CAD environment and enjoyed the entire experience of living and working in a different country, so much so l stayed for four years. On my return back to the U.K l started work in another CAD role at a fibre laser company, a different industry where l moved over to using the CAD package SolidWorks. I was involved with many different engineering projects there.
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• When did your career start at ETL & how has it changed?

• I began working at ETL two and a half years ago as a CAD Technician, this role was based around using SolidWorks and Altium, l was involved with component library work, wiring schematics, creating CAD models and technical drawings. Through continual learning, progression and support through ETL and building on my knowledge of mechanical engineering, l have been progressively more involved in the design and development side of the mechanical aspect of our products. My job title has recently changed to Mechanical Design Engineer.
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• What does your typical day look like?
• My job at ETL can vary from day to day depending on which projects l am involved with, I could be doing anything from updating a mechanical drawing or BOM to designing a piece of metalwork for a new product. The range of work l undertake keeps the role interesting.
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• What is the best part of the job at ETL?
• Working on a range of products within a great team of people. There is always something interesting and new to learn from my work and my team which is inspiring.
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• What has been the biggest challenge you've faced at ETL?
• Looking back, l was assigned to a fresh project where l was responsible for the metalwork design aspect for a large product. I worked alongside electronic/RF engineers from the initial design and development stage through to product assembly. It was the biggest job l had been involved with and rewarding to see the end results
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• Any advice for aspiring female engineers?
• I would say if it’s what you want and what you find interesting, work on your personal development and go for it! Believe in yourself and forget about any stereotypes, your knowledge and skills are the most important things..

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