Meet Our New Recruit - David Orr

Meet our new Operations Manager, David Orr. We`re delighted to be joined by the bright young star who has already established himself within the renewables industry. Here we get to know him a a bit better..  

 Where did it all start?

For me, like most engineers, my interest started when I was quite young. I always wanted to know how things worked and how they came together. Any chance to take machinery apart or try to fix it; I was there.

What did you study for your degree?

After completing A-Levels and an HND in Electrical Engineering I wanted to continue my studies so I completed a Master’s Degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Queen’s University Belfast. During my degree I focused mainly on the Electrical Power modules and Renewable Generation topics. With their world leading research, Queen’s provided me with some brilliant opportunities and Belfast has become a great place to be in.

It helped that the industry I was interested in provided really good job opportunities. The renewable sector in Ireland has developed rapidly in the last few years, in fact there have been days when wind generated electricity has accounted for 60% of energy needs. 

What happened next?

I was offered a Graduate Engineer position with Northern Ireland Electricity months before I had graduated. It meant I had the security of knowing I had secured a position before I had finished my degree.

During my first few years at NIE a lot of my time was spent out on the ground, which allowed me to gain a good range of practical experience and make actual engineering decisions, something often overlooked. I was given the chance to train and develop to become a Senior Authorised Person.

I then worked as a Project Engineer, where I was mainly involved in the delivery of grid connections for renewables. With the growing wind industry locally, this was both a very busy and exciting sector to involved in.

 So, you’d be mad to give up an opportunity like that right? Why EDS?

NIE gave me some good opportunities for training and development. I had the chance to work with some great people and got to gain a lot of knowledge from my colleagues; trying to gain as much as I could from the many that stepped into the distant world of retirement.

Then I got the chance to work for EDS, a company which is positive, progressive, highly ambitious and is constantly looking to push forward within the industry.  This was something which I couldn’t turn down. In my new role I have the chance for my decisions to make a direct impact on the business. This increased responsibility provides me with fresh challenges and motivates me to better myself.

And in your spare time?

I enjoy football, running, hiking in the Mourne Mountains (The best place in Northern Ireland to visit for anyone interested) and any opportunity for a little travel. I also enjoy any chance to farm in my spare time and I also keep bees which takes up any spare time I have left.

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