What originally drew you to engineering?

I suppose I started thinking about it around the time I was moving from school to university. I didn’t have any grand plan – I was good at maths and science, like most people who end up in engineering – but I also struggled with the idea of going to university and not doing something vocational. I think I’ve always had a more practical mindset, combined with being very much on the STEM side in terms of what I enjoyed studying.

I’m from Dublin, and the Irish system is slightly different to the UK in that you have to do six subjects for the equivalent of A-levels. Three of them are mandatory: English, Irish and maths. To get into an Irish university you also have to do an additional foreign language, so I had to do French as well. Straight away, that meant English, Irish and French – half the subjects – were ones I had very little interest in, but had to do anyway. The idea that I could go to university and focus purely on subjects I actually enjoyed was huge. So it was that mix of practical thinking and genuine interest in the subjects that really drew me towards engineering.

What keeps you motivated in your role as Senior Engineer at Eadon?

I think it’s mainly the interest in the projects themselves. The vast majority I find genuinely interesting. You get to a point in a project where you’ve built a really solid understanding of it and that’s rewarding in itself. And at the same time, you can see the range of new enquiries coming in at our weekly Monday morning meeting, which is always exciting. I think seeing what’s coming up next is motivating for me – it keeps things fresh and gives me something to look forward to. The variety of work and the constant flow of interesting challenges is a big part of what keeps me motivated.

Looking back on your career so far, what kinds of moments have you found most rewarding?

I’ve definitely had career highlights, but I think for me the rewards tend to come from much smaller moments. It’s things like when I’m talking with a client and they make a remark or defer to me because they’re confident in my ability. When someone outside the organisation shows that level of genuine trust in me – even in what might seem like a small moment – that’s what gives me the biggest buzz. It’s that feeling of knowing people trust me to make decisions about something important, like their infrastructure, that I find most rewarding.

How has your approach to leadership and decision-making evolved as you’ve gained more experience?

I think one of the biggest things I’ve learned is accepting that not everything has to be done exactly the way I would do it. A big part of leadership is giving people autonomy and not judging their approach, as long as what they’re doing is acceptable and sound. That can be quite difficult.

At the moment, I work with some people who are fresh out of university and relatively inexperienced. It’s natural to want to pass on your experience and almost mould people into doing things the way you do, but you have to remember they need to become their own engineers. When they break from that mould, it can be frustrating, but it’s part of their development.

I’ve also learned that while you can warn people about mistakes you’ve made in the past, sometimes they just need to make those mistakes themselves. I remember being on the other side of that – being told to check certain things first, ignoring that advice and then having to strip everything back when it didn’t work. Only then did it really make sense – but because I’ve been through that myself, I’m much more aware now of the balance between guiding people and letting them learn through experience. It’s not an easy balance to strike, but that’s probably the biggest change in how I approach leadership and decision-making.

What’s a lesson about teamwork you’ve learned along the way that’s shaped how you work with others?

I’ve always felt that I’m a good team player. I try to be supportive within teams and on projects I’m not leading, I make a conscious effort not to take over or push things in the direction I’d personally choose. I think it’s important to give the project lead the space and freedom to run things their way because that’s their role. That said I don’t think that’s something I’ve had to actively develop; it’s more how I’ve always been.

What’s something about Eadon’s culture that you feel sets it apart?

Eadon is genuinely a place where people are trying to help each other. There’s a real sense that everyone wants to see each other develop and nobody’s out for themselves. If you need help, someone will always step in.

On the other side of that, there’s also no pressure or judgement if you don’t understand something that others do. People are comfortable asking questions and that makes a big difference.

Can you give an example of a time when you had to make a critical technical decision and stand by it?

A good example would be the CAT III checks I’ve been working on recently, which are independent reviews of another engineering company’s work. They can be demanding, particularly when you identify an issue that you believe is significant. You’re effectively challenging another engineer’s design – often someone you don’t know – and that carries a real level of responsibility.

In those situations, it’s important to be clear and decisive. If I’m not satisfied that a design is safe or robust, I won’t sign it off and I’ll be very clear that it needs to be revisited. In one case, that assessment was later confirmed, which reinforced the importance of taking that position.

We carry out a lot of CAT III checking and being able to critically assess work and stand firmly behind your professional judgement is a key part of the role.

What trends do you see having the biggest impact on engineering in the coming years?

I think AI is going to have a huge impact on engineering. Right now it’s being used as a problem-solving tool – for example, generating procedures or exploring design options – but it’s still early days and I do think you still need to question everything that comes out of it. It’s great for handling repetitive or mundane tasks, but you still need to apply your experience to check the outputs. In manufacturing and process industries, AI is already helping manage equipment and operations, and I can see it eventually playing a bigger role in design too.

If you could work on any engineering project, what would it be?

It would probably be something in my hometown of Dublin. Ideally, I’d work on a public project – something visible that I could point at and say, “I did that” – rather than a piece of equipment tucked away somewhere no one ever sees. There are several potential projects that could move forward in Dublin so we’ll have to see which one of those moves forward first.

What do you enjoy doing outside of work?

I row two or three times a week on the water in summer, and in winter I do one water session plus a couple on the rowing machine. I also enjoy running, and recently I’ve been running to and from the office.

When you look back on your career, what impact do you hope to have made?

I want people to remember me as a skilled, reliable engineer – not a ‘cowboy’ or someone stuck in old ways. I really enjoy helping others develop, but I’m also mindful of staying current myself. I don’t want to become a sort of ‘engineering dinosaur’; I want to make sure I keep learning, embrace new systems and technology and stay engaged alongside the next generation of engineers.