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NEVER IN THE DARK · JOB

Job — Mechanical Engineer

Mechanical Engineer · IJmuiden · 3.5 years at Zwart

For Job, a design has to keep working in practice

Supplying fuel. Removing heat. Routing exhaust gases and reducing noise. An emergency power installation needs more than an engine that starts. Job Fontijn designs the mechanical systems that make it all possible. From the container structure to the ventilation, every component must fit, be safe to build and work with the others.

“We make sure that the system we’ve designed keeps running.”

More than the engine alone

Job models components in 3D, creates technical drawings and carries out engineering calculations. He discusses the details with colleagues, project managers, clients and suppliers. Working alongside Electrical Engineering, he brings the mechanical and electrical sides of an installation together.

How much space is available for the fuel system? How will heat be removed? And how will the installation meet the client’s noise requirements? These questions all come together in one design. When Job joined Zwart, it was this level of interconnection that surprised him. “I think I’d underestimated just how many components are involved.”

Growing with the projects

Job joined Zwart through an engineering staffing agency. He already knew the company and was interested in its technical products. Over 3.5 years, he progressed from junior to mid-level engineer. He now works on larger, more complex projects and takes greater responsibility for the detailed engineering.

One of these is a data centre project in Hanau. The requirements are detailed and the deadlines strict. To develop the design properly, Job needs the right information. If something is missing, he needs to coordinate with those involved. Because a design decision affects what can be built later.

From solving the puzzle to a complete installation

These complex challenges are exactly what Job enjoys. Working out how something should fit together. Calculating whether it will work. And developing the design in detail alongside the other specialists.

“What I enjoy most is being given a complex challenge, spending time figuring out how everything fits together and ultimately building something on a huge scale.”

Thousands of hours of work go into an installation like this. For Job, the satisfaction comes when all that work comes together. What started as an engineering challenge is now a complete, working emergency power installation.