Vehicle Performance Engineer Review

The role was very varied which meant I had exposure to several areas within the team. I mainly focused on pitstop analysis, creating reports to be used by the engineers, drivers, and mechanics and supported additional work for the race team and strategists. During race weekends there were set reports that were required daily, but between races, I could focus on developing the tools used tot create the reports and other analysis.

I started the year with minimal Matlab knowledge but have spent significant time writing and developing Matlab script. My Excel and Power Query skills have also vastly improved, as well as my ability to process large datasets using a combination of SQL databases, Excel, and PowerBI.

I was surprised by how quickly I was given responsibility for important tasks when I first joined but enjoyed knowing that I was able to meaningfully contribute to the team.

The team were going through a series of changes while I was on placement, so there were times when there was less support than ideal, but towards the end of the year when everything started coming together, I could see that it would change for the next round of placement students as clearer support systems were being implemented.

Everyone had so much time to talk to me and give insights into different areas of the company. It was clear that everyone wanted you to learn and grow and understand the impact of the work you were doing.

I really enjoyed the year and would have loved to stay rather than going back to uni!

Yes

Be prepared that its a very fast-paced environment. Make sure to have clear conversations with your line manager to help prioritise your tasks and redistribute them if necessary. But also really make the most of all the social opportunities throughout the year - the team have tried to make sure there are events for the Early Careers employees to have a space to get to know each other outside of work.