Mechanical

Name: Scott Grinter
Title: Program Manager
Company: Autoliv

At high school Scott Grinter had a technical bias but also enjoyed commercial subjects, such as accounting. He's now found a role that combines both. "I was keen to get to university and my technical bent lead me towards engineering. It was definitely a direction that held an interest for me and where I knew I had some ability, so I chose Mechanical Engineering at Monash University, in Caulfield." 

After completing his degree Scott was looking for a very specific job description. "The automotive industry didn't immediately attract me because, like a lot of kids, I pictured it as being just the car companies. But Autoliv are different, they design safety systems and manufacture seatbelts, airbags, inflatable curtains, electronic sensors, etc. and that was definitely one of the things that attracted me." 

"I chose Autoliv because of the role and the company's profile - they were international so there was worldwide expertise but they were also relatively small and I believed it was a place where I could really get results. And getting results is a real buzz! "

"As a program manager I have technical and commercial responsibility for our biggest car manufacturing customer, Holden. If Holden ask for a new type of safety system it's my job to quote on it, make sure the concept is developed and then coordinate the design activity, with a project engineer and a design engineer reporting to me. Every job starts with the fact that there is nothing that fits Holden's requirement so you have to create and develop something to fill a specific role. That's the biggest challenge and part of the fun."

"The excitement of being in the automotive industry working for a company like Autoliv, is that you can get into every aspect of what the company does. For instance I started in a very technical field, working on the technical side of product development. Now I put projects together and deliver a product not just a concept, which involves time, resource, people and commercial management. And whatever my future interests, there is scope within the company or the industry to do it."

For a role like mine you need a technical background - a degree in engineering is a good start - but the commercial side can be accessed by anyone who has done a business/commerce courses. That's the great thing, once you're working in the automotive industry all you have to do is decide where you want to go, let the relevant people know and nudge off in that direction. Virtually anything is possible."


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