From the military to the Met Office

Alex Collins discusses his move from being a Royal Navy Weapons Engineer to a Marine Systems Senior Engineer with the Met Office.

1.  Can you tell us about you and your military background?

I joined the Royal Navy in January 2016, and my specialisation was in weapon engineering. My job was to maintain ship sensors, communications and weapons systems to ensure they were fully operational and effective. I was deployed on Type 45 anti-air missile destroyers and River Class patrol boats. I was lucky enough to travel as far north as Norway and as far south as South Africa, and more than 40 other countries in between.

I participated in operations including anti-piracy, anti-smuggling and escorting merchant ships through high-risk environments in the Middle East. My career highlight was being part of a team giving humanitarian aid and disaster relief to people in the Pacific Islands after two major cyclones in February and March 2023.

You can read more about my work in this BBC News article about HMS Dragon and this UK Defence Journal article about our cyclone rescue efforts. My role within the Royal Navy involved maintaining ship weapons systems to ensure they remained fully operational and effective.

2.  Why did you make the move from the military to engineering with the Met Office?

My wife and I were lucky enough to become parents to our daughter in October 2023. So, I began looking for a new career where I could spend more time in the UK.

I saw an advert on LinkedIn for a Marine Systems Senior Engineer with the Met Office. The job description appealed to me and closely matched my skill set. I liked the idea of being able to travel around the UK occasionally whilst also having an improved work/life balance. I also really wanted to be a part of an organisation that is focused on researching, monitoring and responding to climate change and other environmental challenges. I was delighted when my application was successful, and I started my role in January 2024.

3.  What do you do in your role, and what difference does it make to the organisation?

My role involves supervising a small but highly-specialised team of multi-skilled engineers to deliver marine weather observations at sea. This is done through our network of more than 100 weather stations, deployed on our fleet of buoys, light vessels and commercial ships. These weather observations are crucial to the Met Office’s weather forecasting and climate change monitoring systems.

We design, build and test the weather stations in our workshop within the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton. We also deploy the weather stations at sea, working closely with our partner organisations Trinity House and National Oceanography Centre, and maintain our network with pre-planned and reactive maintenance. I’ve helped deploy weather buoys that collect meteorological data such as water temperature, air temperature, as well as wind speed and direction. Each buoy weighs three tonnes and is six metres tall.

4.  How have you found working for the Met Office so far?

I’ve appreciated being able to utilise my engineering skills. For example, one day I use my electronic engineering skills to repair a circuit board at one of our weather stations. The next day I use my mechanical engineering skills, and health and safety knowledge to safely build, assemble, and deploy a large weather buoy.

In June 2024, I completed a project onboard the RRS James Cook to service our weather buoy fleet on the south coast of England, in the Celtic Sea and Bay of Biscay. I’ve helped deploy weather buoys that collect meteorological data such as water temperature, air temperature, as well as wind speed and direction. Each buoy weighs three tonnes and is six metres tall.

5.  Would you recommend military leavers consider transferring to the Met Office and why?

I would definitely encourage service leavers to consider a career with the Met Office, because of the transferrable nature of the skills. If you’re already in engineering, you’re likely to be able to find a role that closely matches your skillset. If you’re looking to retrain in engineering, the Met Office offers apprenticeship roles to do so.

I’ve really appreciated having support from other ex-service members at the Met Office. Returning to civilian life after being in the military can be hard, and I’ve benefited from being alongside others in a similar situation to me.

This article was originally published in July 2024.