ROD Bridge Design Engineer, Luca Giarrusso.
I graduated from the Università di Catania in Sicily with a master's degree in structural and geotechnical engineering in 2016. After spending a year working in Italy, I moved to Ireland and found a job as a structural engineer, where I was mainly involved in the design of buildings.
Three years later, I was ready for a new challenge, so I decided to change direction and become a bridge design engineer. I researched the best bridge design engineering consultancies in Ireland and found Roughan & O’Donovan (ROD). Fortunately for me, the company had a vacancy for a bridge design engineer, so I decided to apply, and the rest is history.
I am working on the Great Yarmouth Third River Crossing in the UK at present. I am involved in the design of the bridge abutments construction phases and various structural elements, including the foundations, walls and the devices to protect the bridge against ship impact. My colleagues on the design team are based in our Leeds office, in Germany and in Austria, so everything feels very ‘international’ to me.
At ROD, I work on the type of projects I could only have dreamt of in Italy. As we are a multidisciplinary consultancy, I spend my days collaborating with people across a range of teams, such as geotechnics, water and transportation, to provide our clients with the best design solution.
My biggest challenge has been working through English. I always hated languages at school and, as a result, I wasn’t the most diligent of students. Now I can see how important a second language is, and I enjoy speaking with people of different nationalities so I can learn about other cultures and share something of my own.
If you want to surround yourself with talented engineers, who will help you develop your knowledge and mentor you through the process of becoming chartered, ROD is the consultancy for you.
