Life at JLR blog
Why I chose JLR after 13 years in the Royal Navy
After years maintaining nuclear submarines, Mitch wanted a hands‑on engineering role that challenged him in new ways. That’s exactly what he found when joining JLR as an Integrated Maintenance Technician.
What is your role and how long have you been at JLR?
Since August 2025 I have worked for JLR as an Integrated Maintenance technician, which means I am part of the maintenance team responsible for carrying out repairs and maintenance to keep the production line running, overseeing a variety of machinery and systems such as PLCs, conveyors, presses, ovens and so on in order to produce Rotors for the Electric Drive Units (EDU) on the new electric vehicles.
What did you do before this JLR? How did it help you in this role?
Before joining JLR I was worked as a Leading Marine Engineering Technician on Nuclear Submarines for 13 years. When I was in the process of looking for a change of career, I was fortunate meet a member of JLR’s Armed Forces Community Network and was impressed by what JLR offered to Service Leavers, and with my previous technical background and qualifications I was fortunate to find an Integrated Maintenance Technician gave me similar hands on experience to what I enjoyed, as well as being home every night instead of underwater for months at a time.
Tell us about what your day looks like.
On my production area we have two maintenance shifts, one covering 0600-1400, and the other 1400-2200, when on my morning shift we would start by doing a calibration verification of our Adhesive machine, to ensure the machine is within tolerance, and also checking on other machines for error proofing. Once this has been completed, we would start production and producing Rotors which will be installed into the EDUs on another line. Once production has finished (around 1530) the afternoon shift would then carry out monthly maintenance of the machinery, as well as repairing breakdowns as required ready for the morning shift to come in the next day.
What is your team like and how do you support each other?
Our team on rotor works well as part of two shifts, some have been working together through all the stages of designing and building the production line, so they have a lot of information and experience, we also have different strengths to bring together. Colleagues who have got the experience are always happy to share what they know and have helped myself and the other new starters find our feet in no time.
What's the best thing about working at JLR?
I joined JLR because I wanted to keep going with a hands-on role, and with JLR I have the opportunity to work with new state of the art equipment. I’ve enjoyed learning about Kuka Robots, Conveyors, Ovens as well as other specialist machines. Aside from the job role I have also been fortunate enough to join one of the community networks of JLR and recently spent the day at Silverstone for the Mission Motorsport National Transition event for armed forces leavers.
What is something you'd want someone to know who was considering coming to work in Manufacturing at JLR?
As a Integrated Maintenance Technician for JLR there’s so many different areas to work in that can play to your strengths, an IMT isn’t a one size fits all role, but by having variety we can have teams using individual strengths to keep the lines running. And if you want the opportunity to develop skills JLR will give you opportunities for training courses such as PLC’s and other courses through the Invest In You scheme to pay £100 a year towards developing a skill that doesn’t have to be work related.