Martin Z. recently joined Alten Ltd as a Project Manager. With a decade’s worth of experience in the defence industry and geopolitics, he is currently leading a team of engineers in one of our OEM clients in the defence industry. His project delivers advanced electronic systems to the Ministry of Defence. In this interview, he talks us through his experience as a consultant, the challenges of his role and the benefits of working in Alten group.

What is interesting about working in the defence industry? 

This sector has significant long-term projects. However, this is not unique to only the defence sector. The quality that sets apart the defence industry from others is the people. Professionals in this area have a deep-seated interest in working towards securing the future safety of the nation. This shared value draws people together to tackle high risk, high profile work and means they always have an interesting back-story to tell. 

What value do you bring to your client?

My team is a tailored combination of highly eager graduate engineers and stalwart veterans with decades of experience. They have the agility to deal with a vast array of complex technical problems.

We are a very forward-looking team, and because of our diversity, we excel at coping with the inevitable evolution of the work we are required to deliver. Everyone has varied backgrounds from different industries, and the diversity of approaches is one of our assets. We integrate best practices from big pharma, software developers or financial institutions. It allows us to deliver the highest level of service to our customer.

What are the challenges of being a consultant in your industry? 

Any large project has interface challenges: between teams, deliverables and even documentation. The profile of defence work means that there is an additional political dimension on top of that as well. As a team of consultants, we only want the project to be a success. It is as simple as that. We have a clear command structure that enables us to simplify these interfaces and solve problems quickly by getting to the heart of the matter.

How do you see the future of your career with Alten? 

I believe the best way to bring innovative practices to both the client and the consultancy is to immerse myself fully in new cultures and different ways of working. I am planning on staying within the defence industry, but I might look at a new role aboard in a few years to broaden my horizons. Fortunately, Alten has offices in 25 countries and operates in even more locations, so there is no shortage of opportunities out there!