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Systems Engineer

Welcome, young systems enthusiasts!

NSL 2024 - Systems Engineer

Exploring a Career as a Systems Engineer

Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary field that focuses on designing, integrating, and managing complex systems throughout their life cycles. It combines principles from various engineering disciplines and management to ensure that all aspects of a project or system are considered and integrated effectively.

What does Systems Engineering mean?

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  • Systems Engineers not Engineers of Systems!
  • Finding out what people want and need
  • The application of common sense
  • A structured approach to identifying requirements that can be tested and proved
  • Managing interfaces and controlling risks

Systems engineering differs from traditional engineering:

  • Traditional Engineering: Typically focuses on specific technical disciplines, such as mechanical, electrical, or civil engineering. Engineers in these fields work on individual components or subsystems.
  • Systems Engineering: Takes a holistic approach, integrating various engineering disciplines to ensure that all parts of a system work together effectively. It considers the entire lifecycle of a system, from conception to decommissioning

What does a Systems Engineer do?

A systems engineer plays a crucial role in designing, integrating, and managing complex systems throughout their lifecycle. Here are some of the key responsibilities and tasks they typically handle:

Design and development:

  • Requirements Analysis: Identifying and defining what the system needs to achieve.
  • System Design: Create detailed plans and models for the system architecture.

Integration and implementation:

  • Component Integration: Ensuring that all system components work together seamlessly.
  • Installation: Setting up hardware and software components.

Testing and evaluation:

  • Verification and Validation: Testing the system to ensure it meets all requirements and performs as expected.
  • Troubleshooting: Identifying and resolving issues that arise during testing and operation.

Documentation and communication:

  • Technical Documentation: Creating detailed documentation for system design, implementation, and maintenance.
  • Stakeholder Communication: Coordinating with various stakeholders, including engineers, managers, and clients, to ensure everyone is aligned.
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Facts about Systems Engineering

  • Origins: The term “systems engineering” was first used at Bell Telephone Laboratories in the 1940s. It was developed to address the complexity of large-scale projects, particularly in the military and telecommunications sectors.
  • Lifecycle Focus: Systems engineering considers the entire lifecycle of a system, from initial concept and design through to deployment, operation, and decommissioning.
  • The International Space Station is an example of a largely complex system requiring Systems Engineering.
  • Systems engineering techniques are used in complex projects: spacecraft design, computer chip design, robotics, software integration, and bridge building. Systems engineering uses a host of tools that include modeling and simulation, requirements analysis and scheduling to manage complexity.

  • The term originated at Bell Telephone Laboratories in the 1940s. The term "systems engineering" was first used at Bell Telephone Laboratories in the 1940s. 

  • Systems engineers work with a variety of other engineers to combine components into a system. They need a broad knowledge base that includes mathematics, computing, electronics, and more.

  • Systems engineering is used in many situations, including applying new discoveries to existing technical areas, and in urgent high-risk projects like space exploration. 

  • Systems engineers need to be able to organize the large amount of information they deal with on a regular basis. 

  • The National Council on Systems Engineering (NCOSE) was founded in 1990. 
    The NCOSE is a professional society for systems engineering that was founded to address the need for improvements in systems engineering practices and education. 

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Systems Engineering at BMT

What does a BMT Systems Engineer do?

  • Systems Engineering at BMT Support the development and management of requirements.
  • Acceptance and test planning and management.
  • Apply systems engineering processes across the lifecycle.
  • Develop engineering documentation, e.g. Management Plans, Requirement Strategies, Acceptance Plans.
  • Develop architectures and frameworks using various software languages e.g. Archimate, UML, SysML, MoDAF, TOGAF.
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Examples/projects

Naval Architecture and Engineering are broad subjects requiring lots of skills.

BMT worked with the customer to manage the requirements on their behalf towards the later part of the V Diagram. This entailed ensuring that the correct test and trials were performed to verify the requirements. The test and trials team would carry out the trials and BMT would flow the results to the verification requirements. Then BMT would feed this information back to the customer and they would determine if we've met the requirement. Image copyright: Aegir 26M (MARS).

Platform Complex System Programme (PCSP). In this project, BMT’s systems engineers used customer workshops and statements of work to produce a User Requirements Document and Service Requirements Documents for the customer to be able to use to find engineers to work towards. It involved creating a skeleton set of requirements from the statement of work and then expanding on it through user workshops.

V-Diagram with project Y Links.
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How do I become a Systems Engineer?

Entering a career in Systems Engineering involves a combination of education, skill development, and professional experience. 

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to pursue a career in Systems Engineering globally:

Degree route

Year 1 and 2

Attend: Sixth form or college

Qualification:

  • A-Levels
  • International Baccalaureate Diploma
  • BTEC (with A-levels)

Subjects:

  • Mathematics (Required)
  • Physics, chemistry or further mathematics.

Years 3 to 6

Attend: University

Qualification: BEng/MEng in Engineering based degree

Study:

  • Engineering fundamentals
  • Systems design

Apply to BMT in your final year of university

Years 7 and 8

Attend: BMT

Role: Graduate Systems Engineer

Experience:

  • Join BMT's graduate scheme
  • Ship design projects
  • Engineering tool development

Year 9

Attend: BMT

Role: Systems Engineer

Experience: Choose a team and start developing your specialism.

* These timelines are indicative to give you an idea of the sort of path you might wish to take. There is some room for flexibility based on your academic aspirations.

Apprenticeship route

Year 1 and 2

Attend:

  • BMT as an Apprentice
  • College

Qualification: Level 3 Engineering Diploma

Subjects: Engineering related units/subjects

Year 3 and 4

Attend: BMT

Role: Systems Engineer Apprentice

Qualification: Level 4 - HNC

Study: Engineering related units/subjects

Years 5

Attend: BMT

Role: Systems Engineer Apprentice

Qualification: Level 5 - HND

Study: Engineering related units/subjects

Years 6 and 7

Attend:

  • BMT
  • University

Role: Systems Engineer

Qualification: Part time degree

Study: Any course that’s applicable to work at BMT.

Year 8+

Attend: BMT

Role: Systems Engineer

Experience: Choose a team and start developing your specialism.

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Meet our expert

Meet Thamira Joy Valentine, Senior Systems Engineer

Thamira is a Senior Systems Engineer within the Systems Engineering Capability at BMT. When she is not showcasing requirements, she spends her time fighting the sewing machine and patching people up as a First Aider.

What do you do?

I manage and model requirements and acceptance, to ensure a design is meeting the customer’s requirement and any other requirements it would need to satisfy.

How did you get there?

Systems Engineering is an aspect of all engineering. Although I studied Aerospace Engineering, at the University of Sheffield, I enjoyed the Systems Engineering aspect of the course too. Joining BMT as a Graduate Systems Engineer, I immersed myself in learn and applying more Systems Engineering and using my Aerospace background to support this.

Who inspired, helped and supported you?

When I was in primary school, my aspiration was to become an astronaut. Somewhere along the way, my secondary school teachers distracted me with the marvels of engineering rockets and airplanes. From there, astronauts were forgotten, and engineering was in.

What do you enjoy about your role?

I enjoy being able to showcase what is it the customer wants in a form that both the customer and the design team understand and being able to see the bigger picture as the project comes together.

Has your role provided you with any exciting opportunities?

I think the most exciting opportunity I’ve had is to go on board a ship that was being refitted, as it meant I got to see in person all the work I had been doing on paper! To understand customer requirements, I may need to see how a system will be used and talk to the operators and users. To do this I have visited their offices - which may sometimes be a ship - to see what is needed and wanted.

What has surprised you most about your role?

The most surprising thing in this role is the variety of what I do. I can go from talking to the customer to modelling the requirements and then visiting sites to ensure requirements are being met. Additionally, you get to see how each design team on a project is meeting the requirements, meaning you see the bigger picture a lot sooner than most!

​What advice would you give your younger self?

The advice I would give my younger self is to ask all those questions! There are times when it may feel like you are asking too many questions or are hesitant to take something on because you don’t know much about it, but those who are the experts in the field are there to support you. They are more than happy talk about a topic the love, so asking those questions will mean you get a wonderful heap of knowledge thrown your way!

thamira
"I think the most exciting opportunity I’ve had is to go on board a ship that was being refitted, as it meant I got to see in person all the work I had been doing on paper!"