EW BrightSparks 2023: Evan Jackson, Leonardo UK

Now in its sixth year of awards, EW BrightSparks sees Electronics Weekly highlight and celebrate some of the brightest and most talented young engineers in the UK today.

Here, in our series on the latest EW BrightSparks of 2023, we highlight Evan Jackson, a Systems Engineer at Leonardo UK.

Achievements

Evan joined Leonardo as a Technical Apprentice in 2015 and from his first day excelled in his role, a colleague who nominated him told us. He has shown a clear aptitude for electronics and engineering in general, consistently performing above expectations to meet a deadline or find better solutions to engineering problems.

We learned Evan is particularly adept at testing and complex electronic sensor and countermeasure products. For example, one of the areas Leonardo specialises in is the output of radars, to classify them and determine if they are a threat, and to disguise the platform.

This is typically done against a variety of synthesised threats. In addition to this, all projects undergo EMC and environmental testing (vibration, temperature, shock, salt fog, etc) to ensure they will continue to work under harsh conditions.

He has also proved instrumental in writing and adapting scripts that automate test equipment, significantly reducing timescales for product qualification. Very much a self-starter, Evan is always keen to learn how to use new tools, be they practical or software based, to make his work more efficient. The scripts are using a proprietary programme to communicate with the pieces of test equipment.

He has become very adept at practical electronics skills, using requirements management software, high-quality technical documentation and particularly fault finding. And he has a great instinct, his nominator told us, for diagnosing problems and thinking creatively to solve them. He is competent in preparing presentations and delivering them to high-level stakeholders and engineers within the department.

Evan has also proved very competent at designing test procedures from scratch, working from a set of customer requirements and understanding the resources required to carry out those procedures.

Alongside his day job, he is extremely approachable and has shared his knowledge of fundamental test and integration procedures with younger apprentices and also more senior engineers who are new to the project. Evan has developed into a patient and understanding teacher always taking the time to pass on his knowledge.

After finishing his apprenticeship and becoming a senior systems technician two years ago, Evan is now studying for a degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, allowing him to progress further. Furthermore, he has successfully secured a new role within the organisation that means he has now achieved the rank of Systems Engineer. This is a testimony to work and the respect he has earned from his colleagues.

Electronics Industry Viewpoint
Ash Madni, MD of Madni Technologies, also shared his viewpoint on Claudia’s entry.

“Working and studying is very tough,” Ash told us.“I take my hat off to you, Evan! Keep up the great work.”

Community

Evan is also passionate about STEM outreach, taking part in the Rampaging Chariots event every year.

This involves delivering a kit of parts to a local school with instructions on how to build a basic robot. During the event, Evan will visit the school every two weeks to check on progress and provide engineering support to the students. This means sharing his technical knowledge while at the same time being an approachable role model.

On the day of the event itself, Evan helps run the event and also runs the MOT Station making sure the robots are ready to compete.

In a little more detail, Rampaging Chariots are remote control cars made up of two drill motors, two controller circuits and a MDF chassis which is reinforced with aluminium angle to reinforce it.

The PICs are provided to the students preprogramed. The event is run across the UK by the Rampaging Chariots Guild with support from the local Leonardo sites.

He is also part of the team that takes this event to The Big Bang Fair every year, helping to inspire the next generation of engineers and showcase the company brand.

All of this is done alongside and in addition to his day job and project work.