Saving lives at sea

RNLI lifeboat systems engineer, Rhodri Lewis, saves lives at sea through engineering

My name's Rhodri and I'm an engineer on a mission to save lives at sea. I'm employed as a systems engineer for the RNLI.

By doing a good job I personally feel I mitigate some of the risk. These boats go to sea in, sometimes, very dangerous situations, and by doing my job right I feel I mitigate some of that risk and help to protect the crews when they go out there and fulfil their lifesaving duties.

I was always destined to be an engineer, my lifetime dream job, really. During my school time I used to enjoy technology and sport. I think those two subjects have formed part of my professional life. I enjoy the teamship that I had in sport. I think that teamship has helped me through my professional life. I've always worked as part of a team, and that comradery is just something that helps you through the more difficult days.

There's more than one way of becoming an engineer, and I'm testament to that, you know, I don't have a degree. All my qualifications and my development has been during my professional life, and it's ongoing.

I absolutely love my job. I'm quite happy to come to work every day. I work on interesting equipment. I have the best offices. It's a genuinely good career. It's varied and working for an institution like the RNLI you do it in a safe environment, and it's something I would highly recommend.