We chatted with Sarah, who has recently finished up on the Leonardo Graduate Scheme. She gives a great insight into the range of different aspects you can get stuck into and how the supportive culture at Leonardo makes it a great place to launch your career!
Hi, I’m Sarah. I studied Computer Science at the University of Dundee for 4 years. After this, I joined the 2-year Graduate Scheme here at Leonardo where we work with graduates both across the UK and Italy. I’m now a Software Engineer and alongside this, I’m a Scrum Master for my team. This role sees me facilitate all the team meetings and make sure everything is on my track for completing projects and hitting goals. Here in the Leonardo Edinburgh office, we focus on both radars and laser systems. Currently, I’m working on project which focuses on the Eurofighter Typhoon radar control, I’ve been working on this for around 2 years now and it involves looking into the software behind it.
What inspired you to apply for this role/this company?
Leonardo has such a range of opportunities available from industrial to summer placements and you can find information about the firm online. I’d heard lots from other people who’d really enjoyed their time at Leonardo, so I thought I’d apply for the graduate programme they offer. What also inspired me to the apply was the chance to work on so many different products and aircrafts at Leonardo - I thought that sounded super interesting!
What is the company culture like?
From the people on my team to everyone across the group of graduates, the culture is great! There’s about 30 of us on our cohort and there’s a really nice social aspect to it. We all have training together and visit Italy to meet the other team out there. The way we work as team has a great sense of culture behind it, we work in an agile manner, which is quite a different way of working. We’re not bogged down by certain requirements, as we use an iterative process, it means we’re constantly learning and growing.
Top tips for anyone who’d like to apply for a role at Leonardo?
In terms of the application process, definitely come prepared for the interview and do lots of research on Leonardo! Make sure you have an in-depth look at what we do as a company and make sure you’re interested in the sector. It’s good to know that there’s such a wide variety of roles here. Although I work in Software, there’re so many different types of Engineering. This is something unique, from Hardware, Systems to Software Engineering, there’re endless opportunities and possibilities. You can start in one area but can decide to switch to a different type of Engineering - there’re just so many different paths you can take!
What is your role and how long have you been at Leonardo?
Day-to-day I work on creating software, which involves a whole mix of different elements. I work on various aspects, such as testing and automation, which involves writing scripts to test the code that we build. Alongside this, we do planning and documentation, which makes sure we know exactly what we’re going to code and have the actual coding itself. On our team we work on a lot of different parts that all come together to build a radar system, so this involves working on agnostic radar components. We also review each other’s code, making sure it’s tested and building as it should. Occasionally, we integrate different components from other teams, so we collaborate to make sure the system operates as a whole and not just within our team.
What do you find most interesting about the sector/industry you’re in?
As there’s such a variety of work, it means you’re not working on the same thing every day. There’s also a huge number of different aspects and parts of the product, so you’re exposed to large number of areas, and you don’t tend to just have one focus. Being able to have an overview of the whole system is something I find really interesting!
Have you come across any challenges?
When you first start in a workplace you realise there’s quite a few things that you don’t know! University does the best to prepare everyone but when you’re going into a new job you do have a lot of questions. However, everyone at Leonardo is so willing to answer them. I’m more comfortable with where I’m at now and the knowledge I have developed, but when you first start it’s all about trying to figure out both what’s going on within your team and across the company itself.
Have you used Bright Network in your career search?
I found Bright Network helpful when I was looking for jobs. I also took part in the Internship Experience UK the summer before I started here at Leonardo.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
On the graduate scheme we complete additional training modules, so you’re developing soft skills such as teamwork and also working on coding. The graduate scheme provides wider skills, presentation practice and networking opportunities. Also, after you finish the scheme, you automatically secure a permanent contract, so your role is guaranteed - and if you wish you can stay on the same team!
Keen to find out more? View Leonardo's profile here.