Isla Fairbairn — Graduate Structural Engineer
Leeds, West Yorkshire
Structural engineer two years into the graduate route to IStructE chartership, designing steel and reinforced-concrete frames for schools and residential blocks. Took a 1,400 m² teaching block from concept to construction issue, reworking the bracing to save 31 tonnes of steel against the tender scheme. Designs to the Eurocodes in Tekla Structural Designer and Revit.
Experience
Graduate Structural Engineer, Marlow Fenn Partnership · September 2024 – present
Buildings team of fourteen, working on education and residential schemes between £2m and £18m.
- Designed the steel frame for a 1,400 m² teaching block from concept to construction issue, saving 31 tonnes of steel against the tender bracing layout.
- Modelled and checked 60 reinforced-concrete transfer beams for a nine-storey residential scheme, clearing every one through internal review without a resubmission.
- Set up the practice-wide Tekla-to-Revit export template, removing roughly six hours of manual remodelling per project.
- Carried out 22 inspections on a live school extension and logged four setting-out errors before concrete was poured.
Placement Engineer, Halden Rowe Consulting · July 2022 – July 2023
Twelve-month industrial placement within the MEng programme.
- Produced temporary-works designs for 14 excavation and propping schemes, all approved by the checking engineer first time.
- Rebuilt the standard connection-design spreadsheets to BS EN 1993-1-8, replacing a set last revised under BS 5950.
- Surveyed and assessed 31 masonry lintels on a Victorian mill conversion, of which 9 were found to need replacement.
Projects
- Post-tensioned timber connections (MEng research project) — Cyclic testing of post-tensioned laminated veneer lumber beam-column joints.
Education
- MEng Civil and Structural Engineering · University of Sheffield · September 2019 – June 2024
Skills
- Design codes: BS EN 1990 & 1991, BS EN 1992 (concrete), BS EN 1993 (steel), BS EN 1996 (masonry), BS 5975 temporary works
- Software: Tekla Structural Designer, Revit, AutoCAD, Robot Structural Analysis, MathCAD
- Practice: Steel and RC frame design, Temporary works, Site inspection, Existing-structure appraisal, Contractor queries
Certifications
- Graduate Member (GMIStructE) — Institution of Structural Engineers
- CSCS Academically Qualified Person card — CITB
- Temporary Works Coordinator — CITB
