Career Heroes - Claudia Taggart

Tell us more about you

Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, as well as on my hobbies. I currently spend my time in the gym, running, or doing craftwork such as scrapbooking or sewing. In addition to this, I love to travel when I can.

What kind of work do you do?

The role of a Supply Chain Quality Engineer is quite varied. My typical duties and responsibilities would be investigating non-conformances on procured parts, engaging with suppliers on continuous improvement opportunities to aid supplier development, and liaising with suppliers, internal customers (production centres), and external customers (Airbus, Rolls Royce, Bombardier, etc.).

I’m also involved in reviewing, processing, and approving non-conformance reports and reviewing, processing, and investigating quality escapes on product previously delivered.

I provide governance on supplier purchase orders, provide guidance to inspection teams, and project manage and collate and report on quality metrics.

Typically, I’m based in the Supply Chain Quality Office, as a large portion of my daily activities would be computer-based.

A vital part of the role is reviewing quality issues with product and depending on the quality concern I’m dealing with on any given day, I would visit the production line to witness the issue first hand. It’s important to be in close proximity to the parts as well as the production line; therefore, my role would be based onsite in our offices in Belfast.

Travel is also involved in this role. I’ve visited suppliers in the UK, Europe, US, and Canada.

I work as part of a team, which has grown quite significantly in the last 12 months. The team consists of both Quality Inspectors and Quality Engineers. We have people from many different backgrounds and the sharing of knowledge means we are constantly developing our skills.

How did you become a Principal Quality Engineer?

After secondary school, I attended Queen’s University and completed a Masters in Aerospace Engineering. During this time, I developed a keen interest in research and so following my degree, I moved on to complete a PhD in Aerospace Engineering before moving into a career in the industry.

I started with Bombardier Aerospace (now Spirit AeroSystems) in September 2014 as a Graduate Quality Engineer. Although staying in the same department, I have moved between our smaller sub-teams and worked within many of the commodity groupings.

In February 2022, I moved into the role of Principal Quality Engineer. My day-to-day tasks remain the same. However, this role has additional responsibilities around leading the team, managing projects, and developing suppliers.

If you could do-over, What would you do differently?

I believe the path I took to get me to where I am was the right one for me. It allowed me to explore my interest in both research and the practical side of the industry. The experiences I gained whilst completing my PhD were invaluable to me and what I do now daily as they helped me develop my communication skills, my coding skills through Excel, and gave me the confidence to work independently and travel when I need to.

The only thing I think would have helped me progress further or faster would have been a year in the industry throughout my degree. This is normally an option but at the time I was studying, the economy in the UK was not great and industry experience was put on hold.