Title:  Research & Development Assistant (undergraduate placement) - Carlisle, UK

Pirelli is an international group with a global brand presence, and is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of high performance tyres. Pirelli are also leaders in various forms of motorsport such as Formula 1 and the World Superbike. We supply tyres to many of the world’s major Motor brands such as Jaguar Land Rover, Porsche, Range Rover, Lamborghini, Bentley and Aston Martin to name a few. Pirelli UK Tyres Ltd is the company responsible for all of the Pirelli Tyre related operations in the UK. For more information please visit www.pirelli.co.uk

A 12 month placement is available within our Research and Development Department. As a member of the R&D Process team, you will be involved in all aspects of process developments and improvements at a technical level in component manufacturing. You will also become familiar with the extrusion, calendering & cutting processes, equipment and software’s. You will also support the process technicians in the day to day development activities and also update process recipes and be involved in all aspects of improvement projects

A project will be identified during the placement and a mentor to provide support in learning and development. Assistance will be provided in finding appropriate accommodation, but financial assistance for accommodation will not be given. Student must have a valid work permit/visa for the UK.

The opportunity is based at our site in Carlisle, Cumbria.

Main duties include:

• Assist product development engineers in the development of new tyre specifications consisting of results analysis, tyre design using internal tyre design software, post processing of tyre section analysis after the prototype build and preparing of specifications for production where required
• Working with the prototype build team to optimise the building of the tyres for builds that you will be involved with
• Involvement in requesting tests for both indoor and outdoor tyre testing
• Project management of all types of tyre development projects using PLM (Project Lifecycle Management) software, including project timing analysis and milestone tracking, collaborating with local tyre developers and across the Pirelli group to do this
• Import operations for materials used for prototype buildings
• Export operations for prototype tyres to undertake indoor and outdoor testing in other UK locations and across the world
• Development of software specifications designed to improve the product development operation, then work with the Smart Manufacturing team to get them developed to the specification and implemented into the department
• Supporting in significant tyre mould tooling updates project to change inscriptions on the tyre sidewalls. This will involve supporting in organizing of tooling to be sent for modification, checking of technical drawings, inspection of the job done and moving through into sign off of the changes
• Development of machine tooling and components through rapid prototyping using 3D printers

Student insight on the role:

What I really enjoy about my role at Pirelli, is the opportunity which it’s presented me to learn a broad range of skills, while also presenting me with the opportunity to gain vital industry insight and experiences. From my time here, I have also gained a vast knowledge about the different stages involved in the tyre manufacturing process, as part of my responsibility involves me analysing these processes and looking at ways to improve them. I have also become quite knowledgeable about the technical aspect to tyre manufacturing, as I oversee the production of sidewalls and treads used in the tyres to ensure that they are made within the specifications.

In my time here, I have also been given the opportunity to work on in-house company software, I have been able to apply a lot of my external knowledge in the development of this software, by providing suggestions on how to improve the quality of data which we extract from the software, in order to improve the quality of products which we make. The improvements which I suggested, have also helped me in regards to my Placement project, as I have been able to extract richer data from the software and identify key issues, with one of them being our extruder screw. The extruder screw degenerates over time, with the current software, not being able to accurately predict and judge when it starts to degenerate, my improvement has helped in improving the accuracy, as I am able to get richer data to analyse, in order to predict this point better.

My role has also helped me in developing some of my skill sets such as:

• Ability to analyse data: A skill which I have developed as a result of the mini projects which are given to me by my supervisor, where I have to extract data, and analyse the data to find a trend in the result, to help support or disprove his hypothesis.
• Problem solving: Another skill which I developed further through my role, as my role involves me having regular meetings, where we discuss the factory issues, with one of the notable one being a scenario where the production operatives, were confusing the different coloured tread lines( as different tyres have different colours to represent them). So in order to resolve this, me and my team came up with a system, in which I was responsible to design a metal bracket to be attached to each machine, to assist the production operatives, by showing them the different lines and colours each tyres should have.

I would recommend this role to other students, as I find the company really supportive of the student and their personal development, as these rings true for myself, due to the different occasions where I have been supported and developed. For example, the company paid for my attendance at an Excel seminar course where I got to develop some of my excel skills and they have also allowed me to improve my knowledge by accommodating my request for other trainings relevant to my development.

Education and professional backround:

• Undertaking an engineering or science degree
• Experience within a manufacturing / automotive environment desirable
• Skilled in data analysis and interpretation

Professional and personal aptitudes (essential):

• Effective communicator, able to establish and maintain relationships at all levels
• Resilient, flexible and adaptable in approach
• Effective problem-solving skills
• Attention to detail and high level of accuracy
• Forward thinking and proactive approach to work, with excellent planning and organisation skills
• Open to new ways of working and embracing of change
• Team player – willing to share information and learn from others
• Able to demonstrate accountability
• Excellent IT skills (essential)

Employee benefits include:

• 33 days holiday per year (inclusive of bank holidays)
• Pension scheme with linked life insurance
• Employee discount scheme
• Employee assistance programme
• Discounted tyre vouchers

The successful candidate must, by the commencement of employment, have the right to work in the UK. 

Applications close 31.12.2024.