Dashboard – I'm a Scientist 2024

About Me:

Originally from Essex/East London I now live in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire with my husband and cat Varjaka.
My pronouns are:

She/her
My Work:

My current job is an Embedded Software Engineer on a project called Onesat which is a telecommunications satellite. That means it will provide internet/TV. I work on making the software that allows it to work.
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I’ve had 2 other roles at Airbus:

Propulsion Engineer – Working on the design and analysis of propulsion systems for the spacecraft. These are kind of like a car engine. They typically have a tank of fuel, pipes, valves that open/close and a thruster at the end to make the satellite move. This role often involved working with other departments such as AIT (assembly, integration and test), the people that put the hardware together.

Thermal Engineer – This was another analysis based role. It used computer models to simulate the spacecrafts life. These models take into account the power from the Sun, the coldness of space and the parts of the satellite to check that things will remain at the right temperatures to work.
My Typical Day:

My typical day starts with a meeting with the rest of the project team. This allows everyone to describe how what they are working on is going and let other team members know things that may help them.

Then I get to work. My job is computer based so I am sat down for most of the time. I mostly work on Validation for which we use Java. This involves designing and writing tests that check the software works correctly. I work closely with another team member known as a Production engineer who writes the software in C. Once the software reaches a certain stage I run the tests and if things are not working correctly work with the Production engineer to work out why and fix it. The software we make allows the satellite to do it’s job. Commands are sent from ground to space, processed and then a reply is sent back from space to ground.
What I'd do with the prize money:

Give the money to the STEM Discovery Centre (https://stemdiscoverycentre.co.uk/) which provides STEM workshops and the Airbus Foundation Discovery Space which is a platform that helps kids and teenagers understand science through the lens of aerospace (https://discoveryspace-foundation.airbus.com/en).

Candidate CV questions (extra)

Education:
- Valentines High School, Ilford, Essex.
- University of Kent, Canterbury.
- University of Indiana, Bloomington.
Qualifications:
- 11 GCSEs
- AS Media Studies
- A level Maths, Physics, and Chemistry
- MPhys Astronomy, Space Science and Astrophysics with a year in the USA.
Work History:
Retail work: 2002 – 2004

Airbus (Previously called Astrium then Airbus Defence and Space);
- Graduate Thermal Engineer: 2009 – 2011
- Thermal Engineer: 2011 – 2013
- Senior Thermal Engineer: 2013 – 2015
- Propulsion Engineer: 2015 – 2021
- Junior Real Time Embedded Software Engineer: 2021 – Now
Current Job:

Real Time Embedded Software Engineer.
Employer:
I work for Airbus who do a whole range of things ! Specifically I work in the Space section. Airbus as a whole:
- Design and manufacture aircraft (if you’ve been on a plane, you’ve probably been on an Airbus !)
- Design and manufacture Telecommunications , Earth Observations and Science satellites (such as SOLO which studies the Sun and Sentinel 6 which measures ocean levels)
- Design and manufacture helicopters
- Work in Cyber Security, Secure Communications and Intelligence
https://www.airbus.com/en

My Interview
- How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
  
  Friendly, Short, Ecclectic
  
  What did you want to be after you left school?
  
  I had no idea !
  
  Were you ever in trouble at school?
  
  Not so much
  
  If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
  
  Charity work or something with animals.
  
  What's your favourite food?
  
  Chocolate