During my degrees and my masters in Portugal and Spain, I touched on areas of the water and wastewater industry, but my main focus during my studies had been mining and geotechnical research.
It was always the environmental engineering side that I was most passionate about, so I was keen to play my part in environmental protection as part of my career. During my time in Spain, I took part in some pilot studies for the use of Biomass as fuels for power generation.
This is what led me to join the water industry, around 3 years ago, in my first role as a Project Engineer in Belfast, working for DPS. Working within a smaller company was an excellent opportunity to learn about the industry and develop my skills. However, after two and a half years in this role, I felt it was time for a new challenge and I was keen to have the opportunity to continue to develop and progress further, and to be part of bigger projects.
As a Project Engineer at Alpheus, it’s great to be involved in a large variety of bigger projects in municipal and industrial applications. I get to learn and develop myself as a water and wastewater Project Engineer, whilst also working alongside a multicultural, talented, and experienced team, challenging myself and knowing that I will be supported.
Alpheus is growing and one of the things I love about my role is the daily challenges we overcome to meet customer expectations. I’m very excited I can be part of this growing and demanding process. I really value the autonomy I have in my role and how open Alpheus is to everyone sharing their thoughts and ideas. There is a fantastic team spirit and a strong focus on Health and Safety.
I began my career at Alpheus at 16 years old where I was Helpdesk Co-ordinator, I was promoted to Helpdesk Manager a few years later. I then began a more technical role and have been in my current role for nearly 10 years.
I am responsible for the day-to-day delivery of our contracts, coordinating a growing team of field engineers on sites and across the business. My role is to ensure we deliver everything we are contractually obliged to, whilst working closely with our customers to evolve and improve any element of the contract as the relationship evolves.
When I first joined Alpheus, I thought I would spend a year in the job, bank some money and return to my A Levels. However, I became so engaged in the business, whilst working with amazing colleagues and growing my knowledge of wastewater and water recycling. I became invested and was subsequently promoted in 2008 to Supervisor and was suddenly managing people older than myself. I had carved myself a career and didn’t need to return to my A Levels, but thanks to Alpheus financially supporting me, I did a HNC in Business, and then I funded a HND myself too.
I always wanted to work for a company that wasn’t restricted to promoting a specific technology, but instead identifies the most suitable process for the client’s need and selects the technology accordingly. This allows you to give the client, as well as the environment, the best available technology and the best result. This would allow me to use more of my critical thinking skills as well as extend my knowledge in wastewater treatment and management as a whole, and not just in one specific area. Furthermore, my involvement as a Process Designer in all the project stages, from the concept to the commissioning of the plant, was something that really intrigued me, as I would be able to develop my skills in more than one area of the total “project development process”.
The fact that Alpheus is part of the Anglian Water group, gave me this feeling of security that would help me feel more relaxed and happier in my work, and enable me to be more productive.
I gain great satisfaction from designing something and being involved with it throughout the project’s process, from concept until the end of the commissioning.
The team are always happy to help you and that also makes me want to help them as much as I can.
The Engineering team that I am part of is amazing. It feels like everyone is working on the same level and the collaboration and cooperation is brilliant. We understand that no-one knows everything, and because of this, everyone is willing to help everyone, at any time, in order to get the best possible result.
I started 18 years ago working for Alpheus Environmental in the recycling department. We run a treatment plant in Milton Keynes where I am Site Supervisor. I am responsible for compliance, health and safety, checking in and managing the waste as it arrives. Before I took this role, I had a vested interest in Environmental Science and took further education courses in the subject, which opened the door to this role.
I think my love of nature and the environment led me here, I am a big nature lover and beekeeper and enjoy walks often. My degree course and my tutor’s passion for waste management sparked something in me, and that passion and excitement stayed with me to inspire my career.
