SMIFutures Early Career Profiles: Jacob Graham

SMIFutures, our vibrant community of young professionals, has been carefully crafted to nurture the maritime leaders of tomorrow. These individuals actively engage in Council and Board activities, forging industry connections, boosting confidence, and injecting fresh, diverse perspectives into both SMI initiatives and the broader maritime sector.

This month, meet Jacob Graham, Head of Defence Business Unit at OCEA UK, and valued member of SMIFutures. We recently sat down with Jacob to discusses his pathway into the industry, the importance of seeing value and learning opportunities no matter the project outcome and finding an empowering workplace culture at OCEA-UK. 

What initially attracted you to your maritime organization, and why did you choose it as a career path?

I was attracted to the sector through the UKNEST scholarship programme, funded by Lloyd's Foundation at the time. They offer fantastic scholarships to students at university interested in the naval sector. While I was a UKNEST scholar I visited Cammell Laird shipyard which eventually become my first job after university.

My current organization is OCEA(UK) attracted me for a few reasons. When I joined OCEA it was already an established international shipbuilder but had only recently made the decision to invest in the UK and establish a subsidiary there. OCEA(UK) was a team of 5 and occupied some quirky offices in Portsmouth historic dockyard that were once prison cells. The company had the feeling and culture of a startup with exciting times ahead and we had been given the tools and flexibility to make it happen. I was excited to be involved in those early decisions and projects that were heavily influencing our pathway to becoming an established British shipbuilder. I had some experience of working for larger defence suppliers and shipyards and felt we could find export success by doing it differently. Look out for any future headlines.

OCEA, as a primarily export focused shipbuilder enables me to travel regularly to meet with existing and potential customers. They are willing to entrust younger people, including myself, to take on large responsibilities and contribute to high level decision making representing the company. This has enabled me personally to develop quickly and have some incredible experiences around the world.

Can you tell us about your educational background and how it prepared you for your current role in the maritime industry?

I studied science and math’s for A-Level and went on to study Systems Engineering at university. Systems Engineering has meant something different to almost everyone I have met in the maritime industry (not helped by the Royal Navy terminology!). This means I do get some quite interesting job recommendations on LinkedIn for jobs for which I have no relatable experience.

My systems engineering course was electrical/electronic engineering but instead of zooming deeper and deeper on the first principles and components, its zooming out at how systems interact with each other and people. For the maritime industry, and where I ended up, this was invaluable.

What challenges did you face during the early years of your career, and how did you overcome them?

Part of the reason I was so excited to begin my working career after university was because I could see the real world outcomes of my work and every hour spent provided end value. As a project engineer on live projects in a shipyard the tangible result is often just weeks or months after producing it on your screen. My first design contributions on a ship that I could see in the yard or my first support manual being sent to the end users were very satisfying!

However, as I delved deeper into roles involving business development, I encountered a different set of challenges. It was disheartening to realize the frequency with which projects were scrapped, bids were unsuccessful, or design options weren't selected. When that happens its hard to not feel like you are back submitting a report at university for it to be marked, you learn information and lessons and its never read again.

What I found in the end, and what helped overcome this feeling, is how commonly that work and outcomes can be used again. Becoming good at summarizing all that “redundant work” not just in old project folders and large reports where it will never be found again or the effort would be so high that you might as well redo it; but in short presentable format perhaps just a couple of PowerPoint slides. This format makes it much easier to get a head start and iteratively improve and avoid that feeling of wasted value.

This mindset shift helped me to avoid this sunk-cost fallacy that can lead to an over attachment to the work and outcomes I have spent time on and increase my chances of getting that tangible satisfaction as often as possible.

Can you share any memorable experiences or projects you've worked on?

I did my university placement year in Australia working in a shipyard in the center of Sydney, what a place and an experience I will never forget. An Aussie leaving a leek (the vegetable) in the engine room and screaming 'Leak! Leak!' to the distress of my colleague who had just been put in charge might still be silliest, and funniest moment of my career so far.

How do you balance work and personal life, and what strategies do you use to maintain a healthy work-life integration?

As well as some normal weekend social commitments I play water polo for my local club Southampton 3/4 times a week. This not only gives me a good deadline to get home at a reasonable time but it allows me to quickly clear my mind of work for a few hours before sleeping. On the drive there I might be thinking about work but it is very hard to think about deliverables or to-do lists while sprinting up and down the pool chasing a ball and that break is very refreshing!