Career Spotlight - Lee Shaw - SPT Labtech

We sat down with Lee Shaw, who has been a Mechanical Design Engineer at SPT Labtech since March 2016. Lee came to SPT Labtech for a Summer Placement when he was 17 and hasn’t looked back since. We talk about organising car shows in his spare time, mechanical design on our latest product Firefly and juggling Open University studies with being a father.

What is your role at SPT Labtech and when did you join the company?

I’m a Mechanical Design Engineer at SPT Labtech and joined the company in March 2016 having previously completed a Summer Placement when I was 17.

I initially came to SPT Labtech as an Apprentice via the Arkwright Engineering Scholarship taking the slightly less traditional route of going straight to University and from there completing my Level 3 Mechanical Engineering HNC, HND and now studying via the Open University for a 2 year top-up degree.

What do you like to do outside of work?

Outside of work I keep myself fairly busy looking after my 17 month old son Archie which is amazing spending time with him, restoring old VW’s – my latest project is a MK1 GTI which actually was a colleague’s old car! Organising car shows via my Instagram which has just passed 85,000 followers and a season ticket holder at (newly promoted to the Premier League) Luton Town.

With the fixture list recently being released I’m looking forward to the first game away at Brighton and recently took a trip down to Goodwood for a car show.

How has SPT Labtech helped you in your career development?

SPT Labtech has been brilliant throughout my career. The flexibility to study one day a week has helped me manage my time and focus on my studies.

The team are great helping with questions and support. The managers and senior managers have been so supportive throughout my career with input, encouragement, ideas, and flexibility.

How would you describe the culture at SPT Labtech?

The growth of the business has been exciting over the years and great to see new people join SPT Labtech. It’s a great atmosphere in the team, it feels like working with your friends. Everyone is collaborative and always willing to help if you have a question or need help working out a problem.

It’s a great place to work if you’re a self starter, willing to learn and just get stuck in with projects.

With that in mind, what projects are you currently working on at SPT Labtech?

Mainly working on our latest product, Firefly, there’s so much design and engineering that it’s a really exciting project to be a part of. Time flies when you’re designing and building using CAD, I can’t imagine doing anything else.

What is the most valuable thing you’ve learnt at SPT Labtech?

I feel comfortable asking anyone across the business a question. Everyone is very approachable and helpful. As I mentioned earlier, teamwork and collaboration are what make it such a good place to work.