James Griffin

Experience

• 

  Halfords

  Aug 2009 - Sept 2010

  Sales Adviser/Cycle Mechanic

  Working in the Bikehut to advise on the sale of new cycles and accessories alongside the assembly of the new bikes and performing servicing and repairs to customer bikes. Cycling and the maintenance of bikes remain as one of my interests and hobbies.

• 

  Plymouth University

  Sept 2011 - May 2013

  Student Representative

  An elected student representative required to carefully present student feedback to the university within the termly committee meetings, alleviate student concerns through proactively resolving issues with the academic staff and supporting students in their studies by answering general questions.

• 

  Trelleborg Sealing Solutions

  Aug 2014 - Dec 2024

  From 1st November 2023, Race-Tec Sealing Ltd has transferred to Bridgwater, Somerset.Following the transfer, I am working to support the manufacturing facility with training on products and process, troubleshooting challenging production jobs and diagnosing equipment failures in order to coordinate effective repairs. In addition to this, I am developing a unified inspection standard document to align the criteria used by production and quality operators that includes troubleshooting guidance and illustrated examples. Show less In 2021 I transferred to Race-Tec Sealing, then a recent acquisition to Trelleborg, working to design high performance PTFE Lined (PL) Elastomer Oil Seals and innovative CV boots used extensively in all classes of motorsport. The wider scope of the role and products sees largely similar activities to my previous role but as a direct to customer model and with added responsibilities of generating costings and manufacturing plans (BOM's and Routings). During this time, continuing learning about rubber materials and the associated manufacturing processes has been vital. Early 2023, presented additional responsibilities with leading the design team and with the creation of manufacturing BOM’s and routings within the ERP system. Although there is a trend for reduced travel post-covid, I still support customers face-to-face for our projects with recent visits in the UK and Italy. Show less As a Product Engineer, I worked on the design and development of custom Turcon® Varilip® PDR seals in response to customer specifications. Whilst the drafting and checking of design and manufacturing drawings within NX were the primary activities, the technical support of the product to the external sales teams were a crucial supporting function. This could be as technical guidance via email or phone through to direct customer meetings, that included visits to Switzerland, China and Austria to highlight a few.The training offered by Trelleborg to support my own development included the graduate program and use of Abaqus non-linear FEA, both continuing to be relevant to this day. During this time, I was fortunate to travel to several manufacturing sites in the Sweden, Netherlands, Malta, USA and the UK. As the team expanded, I guided others with their learning about the products and processes as well as to develop new and updated features to a semi-automated FEA toolkit used across 3 manufacturing sites. Show less

  • Senior Design Engineer

    Nov 2023 - Dec 2024

  • Senior Design Engineer

    Apr 2021 - Nov 2023

  • Product Engineer

    Aug 2014 - Apr 2021
• 

  Leonardo

  Jan 2025 - now

  Senior Engineer - Design - Structures