Our Engineers are at the core of what we do: Keeping our customers safe. They’re the clever minds behind our innovative solutions. We checked in with Senior Mechanical Engineer Dulce Goodwin, to see what makes her tick.
Could you tell us a bit more about what you do?
My daily tasks involve things like designing, creating drawings, prototyping, testing, and using SolidWorks software. I also work a lot with other teams to make sure our products meet the criteria of the projects we’re working on.
I’m currently working on is Ancilia, our Trainable Decoy Launcher product, which is one of the most exciting things I’ve worked on in my career. It’s intended to replace the existing decoy systems in the royal Navy. The technology embedded in this really fascinates me, it’s amazing really, and all the things I’ve learned while working on it make me feel really excited.
How did you become an engineer with us?
As a child, I always loved taking things apart, I remember dismantling a few of my brother’s toy cars growing up. It wasn’t always successful, and I don’t think he was happy about it, but I loved it. I also have memories of my mum trying to fix things herself, like the hairdryer, or blocked pipes, trying to sort it out before calling a specialist. Her passion for problem solving was definitely part of what originally drove me to become an engineer.
I moved to the UK in 2018, and I remember wearing a lot of big coats and winter boots when I first got here! Besides the weather though, I do think the quality of life here is amazing. It’s very safe, my family’s here, and Devon is a beautiful place to live with an amazing coastline.
When I couldn’t see myself fitting anymore, I started looking around for other roles in Devon, and the job description here got me really excited. I already knew a person who works here, so I asked her about the company. She gave some great feedback and shared her thoughts about the team I’d be working with. When I balanced everything, it seemed like the right move for me.
You mentioned you moved to the UK in 2018, are there any big differences between where you're from?
It’s very common here to work with a lot of people from everywhere in the world, with a diverse background. That means that there are a lot of different lines of thoughts during meetings, including different approaches to problem solving. That diversity does contribute a lot to the quality of work we put out. In Brazil, where I’m originally from, we can work with people from different states and regions, but to work or interact with people from another country. Of course, this does depend on the area you’re working in.
There’s also the language barrier, which does hold me back a bit sometimes. For example, I didn’t feel very comfortable doing a lot of public speaking. It’s a normal part of the relocation experience, and I’ve embraced this challenge now. It’s all about being patient and with yourself and enjoying the learning process. For example, I don’t think I would’ve accepted your invite for this interview a few years ago, but now I’m enjoying it!
I feel proud of the journey I’ve made, and the series of decisions that got me here.
What other things do you enjoy about working at SEA?
I really appreciate the opportunity to reconnect with my passion for Mechanical Engineering, as I’d been a process engineer for a while. I also appreciate that we’re encouraged to not work overtime and not work over the weekend. I think that’s important because we all need time to disconnect and live our lives. Eventually, that does make us work better.
The team has a lot of bright and experienced engineers, who are really happy to help out and share their knowledge. There’s no me-thinking here, it’s about us. Everyone’s included, valued, respected and encouraged both personally and professionally.
I think a strong and positive culture is the foundation of everything, the unwritten rules and beliefs of people in a company can be a powerful force. I feel aligned with the SEA core values, and trust and support them, I think that’s what makes all of us a good fit.
What advice would you give to people who want to go into engineering, especially young women?
Embrace the challenges and know that making mistakes is normal. Nobody knows everything, and there’s help available out there. It’s important to enjoy the journey and learn from other people.
Engineering is also a very diverse field, there are a lot of different problems to solve, depending on what excites you. So, embrace that challenge, believe in yourself, and make mistakes.
A manager once told me: “Everything is about enjoying the journey and being happy about what you do.” We all have bad days and good days. If you enjoy the journey, bad days don’t destroy everything you’ve built. The other thing is to “Don’t see a problem as a blocker, but as an opportunity to do better”, both of those pieces of advice were very valuable to me.
Thank you, Dulce!
