Louis Saraff, Space Engineering Technician

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What I do

I help build and test scientific instruments and equipment for satellites that go into space. These do things like measure pollution in the air, track sea temperatures or even search for planets outside our solar system.

My job is to assemble all the tiny parts, put them together according to the plans and make sure that they’ll work in the harsh conditions of space. The data these satellites collect helps scientists research things like climate change, natural disasters and even the Sun. All of this helps us understand our Earth more, and how we can look after it.

Louis, wearing protective glasses, using a drill press to drill a hole in a piece of metal.

How I became a technician

When I was 15, I started working weekends with my neighbour, who builds wooden boats. I liked working with my hands and knew I didn’t want to be sat at a desk all day. That job made me realise I wanted to do something practical, so I decided an apprenticeship would be the best route.

How I became a technician

I stayed at college until I was old enough to drive, which helped open up more opportunities. I did a BTEC in Engineering, then got an apprenticeship with a company called Airbus. While I was there, I did a Higher National Certificate in Mechanical Engineering and worked across lots of departments. I got to experience everything from painting to building parts for satellites.

How I became a technician

After finishing my apprenticeship, I applied for a few jobs and found the MAIT technician role at RAL Space, which is part of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). It was closer to home and sounded like something different and exciting. I’ve been here ever since and I love it.

A typical day in my working life

No two days are the same. I like to get in early, around 8am, to beat the traffic. I check my emails, then my day can go in any direction. I might be in the cleanroom assembling satellite parts, craning large instruments, or helping a colleague move equipment.

A typical day in my working life

Sometimes I’m writing up assembly instructions, a bit like flat-pack instructions, but for things that are way more expensive. Other days, I might be helping test equipment in our massive vacuum chambers or doing fine alignment work with delicate optics. I usually finish around 4:30pm or 5pm, unless something really interesting is happening and I want to stay and see how it turns out!

Louis wearing a full clean suit including a face mask, tinkering with a piece of equipment on a workbench.

What I love about my job

The variety. One minute I’ll be unpacking parts for our next project, and the next I’m handling precision optics in a cleanroom. I also love seeing a project through from start to finish. When we build something ourselves, we’re often involved from the design phase all the way to the final launch.

It’s amazing to work on real space missions. Knowing something I’ve built is now in space, is incredible. Recently, I helped build a unit with four highly technical cameras, which is now in space taking pictures of the Sun for NASA. Being part of something like that is a great feeling. I go online to check the latest images and think, “I helped make that happen.”

The skills I use most

Being hands-on is a big part of my job. I use practical skills every day and I have to be very precise, when doing things like measuring, assembling parts, or working with things like mirrors and lasers. Some of the things we build are tiny and delicate, and even the smallest mistake could cause a problem.

We also need to have attention to detail as we need to record everything we do properly, just in case NASA or the European Space Agency come back and ask about something in the manufacturing process. Problem solving is important as well, if something isn’t working as it should, I need to try and figure out why!

Knowing something I’ve built is now in space, is incredible. I go online to check the latest images and think, “I helped make that happen.”

If you like making things or fixing stuff, there’s a place for you in engineering.

A little more about my everyday role

The best bits about working in a team

When we’ve got a project deadline, everyone pulls together. We each take on our part, help each other out and get it done. For one project, they’d already paid for the rocket launch before we even started building the satellite – no pressure!

There’s a good mix of people in the team, from technicians like me to others who organise parts and materials. We also work with all sorts of experts. You’d be surprised how many big projects depend on one really skilled person somewhere - sometimes we have to wait for one person from outside the organisation to make a part, because we know they will make the best part for the job.

What I like to do in my spare time

I spend a lot of my weekends tinkering with cars. It’s a hobby which has kind of taken over! I also go fishing or hang out with friends. I’ve always enjoyed taking things apart and figuring out how they work, even when I was younger. I started with bikes and moved on to cars.

My school days

At school, I studied design technology, geography and double science for my options. Unfortunately, my school didn’t offer engineering as a GCSE, so I studied it after school, at college. After that, I started my apprenticeship. I was never very academic and didn’t enjoy sitting at a desk all day. I’ve always preferred doing things with my hands and learning by doing.

The most exciting thing I’ve achieved so far in my job

The most exciting project I’ve worked on was building a small satellite demonstrating a new way of doing secure communications with quantum technology. I was the main person putting it all together and followed it through the whole process, from start to finish. It took two years of hard work, and it’s been handed over to SpaceX (an aerospace company) ready to go into space. I call it ‘my baby’ because I was there every step of the way, including all the late nights getting it ready for testing. It might end up not working, but that’s the point, it’s a trial. If it does work though, it could be a really big deal.

A surprising fact about my job

We do vibration testing to check if something will survive a rocket launch. We actually put the satellite or instrument on a rig that shakes it to simulate take-off.

Once, I spent months carefully aligning everything inside a satellite to ridiculously precise tolerances. Then we tested it, and it broke. That’s space engineering though, sometimes things don’t go to plan, but we learn and improve from it.

The advice I’d give to someone younger

Don’t feel bad if you don’t go down the academic route. I didn’t, and now I help build satellites! Just follow what you enjoy. If you like making things or fixing stuff, there’s a place for you in engineering. Work hard and go for it.