Here at VINCI Energies UK, we are a community of around 1000 Incredible People. Within our three business lines we have people with a huge range of interesting careers, amazing skills and talents and we want to show case them!

We have been asking some of our people 7 Questions about their incredible careers so that we can celebrate what they do. Here is the first of these interviews with Simon Kirby, Project Engineer at Actemium UK Automation.

1. Can you describe for us what you do as a Project Engineer at Actemium Automation?

As a Project Engineer, I use various different software packages to create or modify programs that control the treatment of water across the northwest. then head to site with the new or modified software to commission it and get sites up and running more efficiently.

2. How did you get started in the role?

I started working when I was 16 as an apprentice draughtsman for a steel fabrication company and worked in retail for almost 10 years. One summer, I did a short spell as a quality assurance lab technician in charge of programming the CNC measuring machine. It was here that I realised I really wanted to get into programming.

I went back to college to do my HND in Electrical and Electronic Engineering and landed my first job as a hearing aid technician. From here, I progressed into manufacturing and repairing prosthetic limbs for the NHS.

I moved to Cougar Automation (now Actemium Automation) when a friend asked me to apply for the Junior Engineer role that had opened up as he know it was something I really wanted to do and have been here very happily ever since.

3. What is something about your job that is not widely known?

Every day is different, offering up new challenges to solve and different things to fix. Not many people seem to know what a PLC is or what it can do when i tell them what my job is. Another thing that is interesting is that there is always something new to learn.

4. What do your friends and family think you do?

They just think “He just does something with computers to make other computers work better!”

5. What are the most challenging and rewarding elements of your job?

It’s not always obvious what the solution to an issue is straight away, but it’s always rewarding to find it and then apply that solution, watching something you have done begin to work out in the world.

6. What has your Incredible Team done to support you in achieving your career goals?

From the upper management to the Project Managers and other engineers, everyone welcomed me into the automation industry and taught me all the skills I now use today and continue to do so as I progress . Without the team support I’ve had I wouldn’t be where I am today.

7. Tell us about the impact that your work has on the world around us?

We make sure there is plenty of safe and clean drinking water for everyone across the North West of the UK.

Whatever your career goals, VINCI Energies has a position for you. CHECK OUT OUR VACANCIES ONLINE TODAY and discover all the great opportunities we have on offer.