International Systems Engineer Day 2022
November 25th marks International Systems Engineer Day, a day that was founded in 2012 as a way of saying thank you to these professionals who use their technical expertise and passion for technology to design and build innovative systems to meet business needs. Systems Engineers are critical to the success of systems implementations and in turn are key contributors to the success of a business.
As a recognized leader in the delivery of engineering support solutions in Canada and around the globe, Babcock is proud to be celebrating this day by highlighting one of our own talented Systems Engineers: Jeff Warmington.
Jeff has been part of the greater Babcock family for over 39 years supporting both Babcock International Group and Babcock Canada.
Below we learn more about what inspired Jeff to become a Systems Engineer, his role within Babcock, and the challenges and opportunities that come with the job.
Q: What is a Systems Engineer?
JW: A Systems Engineer is someone who works with engineering specialists to provide a system life cycle perspective to create or adapt a system. A Systems Engineer needs to be able to think about how a system interacts or will interact with the environment around it.
Q: What inspired you to become a Systems Engineer?
JW: I was approached to become a Systems Engineer after several years working “afloat”, where I tested, integrated, and supported Naval Combat Systems worldwide. I started by delivering the test, integration, and acceptance of Babcock designed products and then learned more about the Systems Engineering Life Cycle from there.
Q: What sector of the business do you work in and what are your roles and responsibilities?
JW: I work in Victoria, British Columbia, where I oversee naval combat systems work, and provide systems engineering advice and guidance more broadly to the business, including supporting Babcock at the international level. I provide coaching and mentoring to Technologists and Engineers and remain actively involved with the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE).
Q: What is the biggest challenge as a Systems Engineer?
JW: Trying to account for every interface a system will interact with, and how its behaviour could impact its environment, or its environment could affect the system when built or coded. Many of the systems we support were designed by entities that no longer exist and were built for different end-users than the current operators, so assessing the technical debt we inherit can be a challenge. Experience in the design practices and system acceptance methods used throughout a platform’s life cycle is crucial in assessing that risk.
Q: What do you enjoy most about being a Systems Engineer?
JW: The variety of work. I have worked across the world supporting armed forces and have been embedded into several companies globally to provide the Babcock Systems Engineering expertise they need.
Q: What advice would you give to an individual pursuing a career in Systems Engineering?
JW: Consider every opportunity that presents itself as a learning opportunity. Understand what you don’t know and find someone that can share that missing knowledge and experience with you.
Thank you to Jeff and to all of our System Engineers for your hard work and dedication!
To learn more about how Babcock is delivering engineering support solutions in Canada and around the globe, visit: Babcock Canada
