URL:
/1024/en/career/Life%20and%20Work%20%40%20EADS/profession/hidden/business_engineer.html
DATE: 2009-11-11T16:04+0100
My present position:
Since November 2001, I have been employed at EADS Space Transportation in the region of Aquitaine. I work in the System Design & Testing Directorate and work there in the Site Electrical Engineering Service. As a business engineer, I am responsible for design, realization, integration and validation of electrical, electronic and IT products for ground equipment used in the development of the M51 ballistic missile.
My Job:
All the relevant functions are assigned to me in the course of the annual interview with our departmental manager. The goals to be achieved are defined with him. At the moment, I am responsible for work lots and product identification and I am in charge of product realization. Within this framework, I am responsible for compliance with technical quality and the contractual obligations (technical and commercial monitoring of internal and external works). I am also responsible for the technical synthesis of the assigned functions and for the interface function to the principal holding operational responsibility.
The products for which I am responsible are used for testing and commissioning electrical function chains. These tests are carried out using special test benches which are connected to the individual missile devices in order to test them, to simulate their operating states and to ensure faultless operation under environmental conditions. The appropriate products include hardware and software analysis. I am currently finishing the technical specification so as to be in a position to start the development work, because we are currently at the start of the development phase. The next stages relate to the conception and realization of the specified product and I am responsible for monitoring and tracking these products (budgetary and schedule compliance). The specification phase might appear to be rather monotonous at first sight, because it is associated with a lot of writing, but I get a great deal out of this phase because it forms the basis for future product development. My work involves a lot of contact with a wide range of principals, offices higher in the hierarchy, subcontractors (for mechanical engineering, electronics and IT), development offices and inspectors. Within this industrial framework, I am responsible for coordination and initialization of processes in this microcosm of our company and I have to comply with the schedules and deadlines that are set. My career before coming to EADS SPACE Transportation:
I have a rather unusual career development by comparison with my colleagues, because my first position was nothing whatsoever to do with aviation. I was working in the low-current industry, i.e. video monitoring, sound systems and display panels within a subsidiary of “Entreprise Industrielle”. I was concerned with modernizing the football stadiums for the 1998 World Cup and in this capacity I was working as a business manager for the ”Chaban-Delmas" Bordeaux Stadium. This was a fantastic challenge for someone starting on their career. I learned a lot from this position and I soon learned to shoulder the huge responsibility (managing the work teams, dealing with logistic problems, purchasing activities and keeping to schedules). I was lucky enough to have the support of the senior business manager and he was my mentor during the initial stages. I was soon entrusted with functions requiring a high level of responsibility and he gave me a sense of how to deal with responsibility for personnel and financial issues. After I had completed this mission, I returned to electronics (my basic training is as an engineer in electronics and industrial data processing) and I worked with a supplier to the aeronautical industry. I worked on designing, realizing and validating test benches for THALES AVIONICS involving cockpit displays for AIRBUS A320 and MIRAGE 2000-9. The difficult economic situation persuaded me to send an unsolicited application to EADS because my employer was taken over a few months later, after the company filed for bankruptcy. I also submitted applications to a number of other companies. It wasn’t until a year later that I was invited to an interview and then finally obtained a job. This fitted in really well with my plans for moving to an international company. I also believe that EADS offers outstanding prospects for career development, and promotion of career interests, especially in view of its power as a big group.
Conclusion:
I am extremely happy to work at EADS because I’m working in a strong and dynamic department with motivating goals. I am part of a highly committed and continually expanding team with a highly developed team spirit. This is particularly important to me because my previous opinion about a company like this – that absolutely nothing happens there – has not been confirmed in practice. The working atmosphere is perfect: ambitious objectives, optimum availability of resources for achieving goals, a boss who has an open ear for any personal problems. It’s really great!
