Introduce yourself to us
I’m Rosie and I’m a Research Associate in at Createc’s office in Cockermouth, Cumbria. I’ve been in the nuclear industry for around 14 years, my background is in radiation physics and I work on our N-Visage® Fusion software.
Great, so what career path have you taken to get to your position?
Initially I studied Electronics at Durham University, which is not a typical route into my position. Before joining Createc, I started my career as a service engineer in the Nuclear industry. Whilst at my previous employer I studied for a part time master’s degree in Radiometric Physics at the University of Liverpool, working my way to a Physicist position with over 10 years’ experience in the Nuclear Industry. All this positioned me really well for the work I do now with Createc.
What drew you to the opportunity with Createc?
A number of things! Firstly, there was the opportunity to do something really exciting and interesting. At Createc I can work on cutting-edge international projects and I’ve already travelled quite a lot with work, including going out to Tokyo to do a training course for Visage® Fusion software which was awesome.
Secondly there’s the fact it’s a small team with a close-knit atmosphere. Having worked in larger businesses, this was a real selling point for me.
Thirdly, it’s very much physics and research based, which I love. There’s little paper work considering I’m working in the nuclear sector - we focus on creating new technology. It feels like the whole company is set up to enable you to do your job as well as you can.
In previous companies I’ve always found you need to spend time getting management buy in just to carry out simple tasks. Here, we’re trusted to make the right decisions and given the tools to do so because everyone understands the goal and is pulling towards it.
You mentioned your main project is the N-Visage® Fusion software, can you tell us a bit about that?
Our software is called N-Visage® Fusion, it allows us to pinpoint radiation activity, understand what sort of activity it is and then modify the environment in our models to see what changes we can affect. For example, you could put up shielding to allow people to walk past and better understand the reduction in radiation those people would have.
That sounds really valuable, is N-Visage® Fusion already in use?
Yes, it’s fully up and running - I’m mainly working on the support and improvement of the product now. When I started at Createc it was in development in script form, so it was something that we could do on behalf of our customers, but they couldn’t use for themselves. I’ve developed it from there and turned it into a product that the customer can have.
It’s been really rewarding to see the product go into a commercial environment. I enjoy working with the customers and getting the feedback from them, now it’s in place they’re all suggesting new features, new ways to develop it and what we could integrate it with.
So, do you have much direct customer contact in your role?
Quite a bit, yes. I’ve done training for our partners in Japan and America and I do some for the UK as well. Often you don’t get the opportunity to be close to the customer in a role like mine, but because we’re a small business I’ve been able to follow the product from R&D into a commercial setting which has been really rewarding. I love seeing customers using it and getting benefit from it.
So now N-Visage® Fusion is on track, have you got any new projects coming up?
Of course! We never stop developing here. I’ll be working next on a product called D:EEP, which looks at how entrained the contamination is into a surface - such as concrete. If we understand the depth and dimensions of the contamination, we can accurately work out how much concrete to remove for optimum waste consignment.
It all sounds fascinating, what’s the most exciting part of the role for you?
I love it when we do some analysis for a customer and find something interesting in it. For example, if they thought their radiation was coming from one source but we find out it’s actually coming from somewhere else as well, it’s really satisfying because only our technology can do that for them. It saves them a lot of time and money and you can demonstrate that saving to them which is nice.
Can you tell me a bit more about the team at Createc?
It’s a mixed team with all different ages and backgrounds, very diverse. I work in the Instrument Division and even though we all have different backgrounds we need to work closely together to share our knowledge and create the best product for the customer. We have daily team meetings and even the odd social!
What about the culture as a whole?
It’s really positive, I’ve never worked in an environment like it. Everyone comes up with ideas and is genuinely interested in what we’re doing. For example, I did a bit of cross training recently where I explained the ideas behind N-Visage software just because I’d had a lot of people asking me questions about it. I did an hour’s session and I had so many people asking me questions, everyone was enthusiastic, wanting to know more details about how things work and the maths involved. They didn’t just want a rough overview, they really wanted to understand it properly. I think everybody has that inquisitive nature in our team.
What’s the local area like in Cockermouth? 
For me, it’s an amazing place to bring up children because you get so many more opportunities to be outdoors. My little boy loves camping and going on the lakes, so it’s a great place for us. You do need a car, but if you enjoy what Cumbria has to offer in terms of the outdoor pursuits it’s a brilliant place to be - not to mention it’s also very friendly, welcoming and open to everyone.
What would you say to someone that was a prospective candidate looking to join?
I would tell them it’s an amazing company in two great locations, but that you have to be open minded and try new things to succeed here. You really have to be positive and go for new ideas if you’re going to get the most out of Createc.
Describe working at Createc in 3 words
Exciting, challenging and fun!