Profile
Nicholas Smith
Curriculum Vitae
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Education:
I went to Balwearie High School before attending the University of Edinburgh
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Qualifications:
Standrard grades, Highers, Advanced Highers, Masters Degree
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Work History:
Hendersons Butchers, ARUP Engineering, Lotus F1 Team and Jaguar Landrover
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Current Job:
Automated Driving Engineer at Jaguar Landrover
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Employer:
My employer is Jaguar Landrover where Jaguar, Landrovers and Range Rover cars are designed and built.
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About Me
I'm a driven and inquisitive person. I like to work with my hands where possible and enjoy understanding how things work.
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Read more
I’m originally from Fife in Scotland but moved down to Warwickshire after university to work as an Engineer for Jaguar Landrover. I live with my girlfriend and lead a fairly active life. Between sports (playing and watching), cooking, watching our favorite TV series’ and socialising with friends; life can be pretty busy.
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My Work
I work as an Engineer at Jaguar Landrover developing autonomous vehicles - cars which can either fully or partly drive by themselves.
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Read more
I think driving is very fun and ts extremely useful for getting around. However, driving does come with risks and there are thousands of road accidents everyday. Emmissions can also be harmful to the environment.
These is a key reason why I’m passionate about designing autonomous cars. Introducing safety features, like automated emergency breaking, can reduce the number of road accidents and automated cruise control can reduce our fuel consumption helping the environment.
These safety features work through using sensors packaged all around the vehicle – ultrasonics, radars and cameras. Its my job to package these sensors into Jaguar and Landrover cars, ensuring that they operate as intended and don’t detract from the aesthetic of the car.
To do my job I spend a lot of time understanding how the sensors work, which I do by talking to our suppliers from all over the world. I also spend a lot of time working on CAD (Computer Aided Design) software, which allows us to build a 3D model of the car showing all components and how they look and fit together.
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My Typical Day: I get to work at around 7:30AM where I start the working day by talking with my team about our goals for the day. I then using 3D CAD software to look at the sensors and cars. I have lunch with my friends and then spend the afternoon speaking to lots of other teams in Jaguar Landrover about what they are doing. It takes so many people to design and build a car that its really important to talk to each other.
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Enthusiastic, passionate and inquisitive
What's the best thing you've done in your career?
Designing cars which people love to look at and rive.
What or who inspired you to follow your career?
Ross Brawn - a F1 motorsport Engineer
What was your favourite subject at school?
Physics or Technological Studies
What did you want to be after you left school?
An automotive Engineer
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Sometimes... but mostly because I talked too much.
If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
I'd be a chef! I like working with my hands and eating tasty food.
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Coldplay
What's your favourite food?
Paella... but who doesn't love chocolate too!
What is the most fun thing you've done?
I went to the Italian Grand Prix once with my Dad which was a very fun experience.
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
Firstly, I'd wish that I never had to eat mushrooms again. Second would be to se Scotland win the Football World Cup. And finally I'd wish that I always enjoy what I do for work.
Tell us a joke.
What do you call a dog that can do magic? A labracadabrador!
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