ISV Engineer - Summer Placement Review

Helped ground trials manager deliver a particular phase of a set of missile trials. Mostly documentation work - lots of documentation needs to be produced before a trial phase. Also tracking of different processes that needed to be completed pre-trial. Some lab work where available. Delivered a review which assessed the readiness of the trial phase in front of a panel of safety and technical experts. Produced some of the final pre-trial documentation.

Mostly soft skills - presentation, communication, organisation and time-keeping and that sort of thing. Certainly gained lots of technical knowledge about missiles, but I wouldn't say I developed any further technical skills during my placement.

Yes. I was responsible for tracking many critical strands of the trial phase. I was given the responsibility of preparing and delivering the readiness review and then given the responsibility of producing the final documentation that tied together all of the other documents, work-up etc. ahead of the trial. I got the impression early on that hard work was rewarded with extra responsibility.

Everyone is extremely helpful and approachable. Only once was I turned away after asking for help and it was only because the person was busy. Instead they asked one of their colleagues to talk me through the content instead. This was my experience across the whole company (not just my department) with people from departments outside of my own willing to spend considerable amounts of time explaining their work when I showed an interest.

Helpful, friendly and respectful. I was treated like a colleague, albeit one who had a lot to learn. Even in high pressure moments everyone was still very friendly and approachable. One colleague was kind enough to say at the end of the placement that he often mistook me for a regular employee, which is the general attitude I encountered towards interns like myself.

I enjoyed the placement overall. The company culture and atmosphere is great. My opinions and interests were listened to. I really wish my placement had been more technical, but my managers did their best to try and adapt my placement to get as much exposure of technical work as was feasible alongside my other responsibilities.

Yes

Focus on being normal, friendly and intelligent at the interview/assessment centre - they really don't expect you to know all that much about missiles, just that you have the right attitude and potential. During the placement, be open about what you're interested in and ask about other work if it interests you. Always be inquisitive about other departments, you never know what you might find interesting.