A Day in the Life... Christopher Langford

“My day usually begins at 6.30am when I get into my car and drive through the rather green and somewhat leafy Somerset countryside; a commute that, as a man from Birmingham, I will never tire of! I get to my desk for 7am and spend the first half hour or so checking my inbox and making sure I am up to date with tasking and the status of our project. That’s it though; the rest of the day, until I get home at 4pm, usually ends up being anything but ‘typical’. 

Due to the complex nature of the project, as well as the number of customers each with a unique build of the product, my day can be taken up with a variety of tasks. This could be testing a new software build, writing end-user documentation or capturing requirements for new enhancements. This means that I get to see most of the engineering lifecycle from requirements capture through to delivery and support, and can be working on a different part of this lifecycle each day. All of which means that the job does not become tiresome or tedious yet remains as fresh and interesting as it was during my first week. 

As the focus within Thales is very much ‘the team’, the product team meets regularly to ensure that everyone is aware of current goals and milestones. I remember this impressing me from my first day; you are immediately included and made to feel as an integral part of the team from the off. As a systems team, we meet more regularly to ensure that each member is working efficiently and to time. 

Another part of my role requires me to travel to support installations and upgrades. I recently travelled to Denmark in order to lead an installation of the product. This made me responsible for the installation and Site Acceptance Testing and it allowed me to gain primary access to the customer. In addition, it gave me invaluable experience, all of which will help me gain the status of Chartered Engineer whilst working as part of the Thales team.”