Brew Technology Engineer Review
at Jacobs Douwe Egberts
Placement (10 Months+)
Mechanical Engineering
Banbury
Review Submitted: May 2021
Overall Rating
3.5 /5
The Overall Rating is the average of all the ratings given in each category. We take those individual ratings and combine them into one final score!
4/5
-
Overview of Role
3.5/5
-
Skills Development
4/5
-
Support and Guidance
3.5/5
-
Company Culture
3/5
-
Overall Experience
3/5
-
Future Career Prospects
Overview of Role
Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis.
To develop new systems to support professional and single serve machine development. Involves daily team meetings discussing next steps and then carrying out work internally to plan research for these new systems. Responsibilities include fundamental research, mechanical design development, rapid prototyping and presenting of findings.
Were you given much responsibility during your placement / internship?
Yes, given lots of freedom and responsibility to develop new systems and make suggestions for how current methods could be improved. Fully involved in numerous projects requiring organisation and prioritisation skills. Meaningful tasks given that were business critical and led to completion of projects. Smaller exposure to business than normal however this is primarily down to Covid-19 and the measures in place to create a safe workplace.
Please rate how meaningful the work you were doing was
4/5
Skills Development
Have you learnt any new skills, or developed your existing skills?
Developed software and electrical engineering skills required for prototype rigs. Further understanding of prototyping and manufacturing methods. Developed leadership skills through funded training courses and developed commercial awareness that is company specific through internal courses.
How would you rate the training provided during your experience?
3/5
How would you rate your development of industry-specific skills during the experience?
4/5
How would you rate your development of personal / soft skills during the experience?
3/5
Please rate how these skills have helped you in your career development
4/5
Support and Guidance
How much support and guidance did you receive during your placement / internship?
Line manager was very good at giving wider business information and insights in to R&D strategy. Gave good guidance into how I could develop projects for the future of the company. Wider team gave good technical support on engineering problems ranging from electrical design to practical manufacturing skills. Two sets of mentors for personal and professional development, although professional was only through my desire to become chartered. General good attitude to support
How would you rate the support and guidance from your line manager?
3/5
How would you rate the support and guidance from the wider team?
5/5
Company Culture
What was the company culture and general atmosphere like?
Good attitude on paper for 'entrepreneurship, solidarity and teamwork' but in reality all decisions are made from top down which struggles to realise the entrepreneurship statement for everyday workers. However, general atmosphere is very good developing for the next generation of products. This year (2020-21) is probably not a good representation of a normal year due to Covid-19 and major redundancies within the department.
How would you rate the inclusiveness of the culture?
4/5
How would you rate the social opportunities?
2/5
How would you rate the diversity initiatives?
4/5
How would you rate the charity, sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives?
4/5
Overall Experience
To what extent did you enjoy your placement / internship?
Overall, I very much enjoyed my placement, primarily down to my team and manager. Always ensuring I had meaningful work to do whilst allowing flexibility to work on new projects I was interested in. However, did not meet expectation of working on new mechanical systems and was much more heavily focussed on electrical and software engineering, this may be due to the nature of the projects going on during this year. Company culture is inclusive and friendly but hard to socialise and feel included during a pandemic, which is understandable. I would go back, only if other options weren't available, new company policy shifts away from innovation and developing new things which is what I want to do as an engineer, not copy or adapt Chinese knock offs.
Please rate your level of enjoyment on your placement / internship
3/5
Please rate how your experience met your expectations
3/5
Future Career Prospects
Please rate the future employment prospects at Jacobs Douwe Egberts
3/5
Recommendations & Advice
Would you recommend Jacobs Douwe Egberts to a friend?
Yes
What advice would you give to others applying to Jacobs Douwe Egberts
Use the experience to gain meaningful insights into how a global business operates and utilise your team to develop your own technical skills you would like to develop. As a mechanical engineer, don't expect to work on new systems for machines, as that is being shifted to third party companies. Good environment for developing practical skills too but unsure if this will be the case after the major reduction in R&D in the UK after June 2021.
