What I do

The company name McLaren Applied is key to what my role involves – the technology developed for Formula One is now being applied in different sectors. I’m currently working on a new train project using the knowledge gleaned from the motorsport industry. This involves data analysis and testing hardware and software. Part of my job is to break things and ask the developers to come up with a way to fix them!

Hear more about Jennifer's role by watching the video below...

How I became a technician

At school, I studied English, science, maths, history, IT and drama – although I was most interested in IT. At college, I was the only female in my class of 26. Knowing that only 19% of girls in school do tech has pushed me to inspire others. Too often girls don’t feel confident to say they want to pursue a career in tech, and I want to show them it’s a great career option. Before joining McLaren Applied, I completed a four-year apprenticeship at Visa, working full-time and studying. I saw the role at McLaren Applied advertised on LinkedIn and was offered support by the team from my first enquiry.

A typical day in my
working life

I'm working in the transport team at McLaren Applied. At the moment, we are working on a train which a lot of people wouldn't expect. I work on a combination of software and hardware. So as part of my role, I also test switches to make sure everything works as it should. For example, one switch might control the cameras, and another will control the doors etc.

We have developers and systems engineers within our team, and my manager and I are the test engineers. As a tester, I'll recreate an error and identify a problem. Recently, I've been working closely with the systems engineer as switches are their responsibility. We can even visualise a journey for the train using a simulator.

Don’t be afraid of challenges in your life. Push to be who you want to be. Take on everything you can!

As a tester you have to find software or hardware bugs and try and break things!

A little more about
my everyday role

What I love most about my job

I have joined a STEM group in McLaren Applied, where I have collaborated with others to see how we can encourage young people, not just women, to get involved. There is also a women’s network across the McLaren Brand called Driven Women - it’s a way to promote the work of women within the workforce.

The best bits about working in a team

I like that there is constant team collaboration. Developers do their testing before they hand it to us. We then retest it to ensure that all the checks are complete and if we can replicate problems.

The most exciting thing I’ve achieved so far in my job

I recently took ownership of the circuit boards within the active antennas. I had to run a series of tests on ten boards, including testing the LED lights. After each board, I noted the tests I had completed before moving on to the next. This was a confidence boost, as it reassured me that I knew what I was doing, and if I hit a problem, I would reflect and ask for support if I needed it.

The next steps in my career journey

I'd like to work my way to a senior role. My dream is to manage a technical team.

See Jennifer in the Technicians: We Make the Difference cinema advert

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Find out more about this role

Discover what qualifications you’ll need, how much you can earn, and what the next steps are.

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