This role involves onsite deployment at a major aerospace manufacturing company as part of a documentation digitisation initiative related to the Solumina MES system.
The responsibilities described in the job description differed significantly from the actual work performed.
The role was advertised as involving end-to-end implementation and deployment of the Solumina MES system, collaboration with cross-functional teams, supporting testing and training, and troubleshooting or configuring solutions. However, the day-to-day work mainly involved manually transcribing information from existing documents into another document format for system upload.
The position involved limited exposure to system implementation, system configuration, technical troubleshooting, or collaboration with engineering or software teams. Most tasks consisted of converting existing documentation into a format required by the system. Based on the current project direction, this process appears likely to continue for an extended period.
The digitalisation initiative also did not appear to follow a structured software development approach. There were no visible agile practices such as sprint planning, stand-ups, or defined architecture oversight. As a result, the project often felt more like a large-scale documentation conversion exercise rather than a structured MES implementation or digital transformation programme.
Project leadership appeared to be coordinated at a regional level rather than embedded locally with the technical team. This sometimes made it difficult to obtain clear technical direction or escalation paths when questions about project structure arose.
Within the team, several members have already spent multiple years on the same initiative across earlier digitalisation attempts. For individuals who are motivated to build technical skills in today’s fast-moving technology environment, the pace of learning and exposure may feel limited.
Career development opportunities in this role may therefore be restricted for candidates expecting hands-on experience with MES implementation, system configuration, or technical support work. Much of the daily work focuses on documentation preparation rather than technical system responsibilities.
Work-from-home arrangements were also not available despite the tasks being documentation-based and typically performed using only Adobe PDF and Microsoft Word.
There were also some operational inconveniences. Staff access passes took an extended period to process and, in some cases, had not been issued even after several months. Basic workplace facilities may also feel dated compared with modern office environments. Certain restroom facilities appear to reflect older infrastructure standards rather than those typically found in newer office environments.
Candidates interviewing for onsite roles involving Solumina MES documentation digitisation within a large aerospace manufacturing environment will likely recognise the project described here and may wish to clarify the exact day-to-day responsibilities before accepting the offer.
