The right graduate programme takes you places. For Aengus Carmody, that is Andover, north of Boston.
He’s in Pfizer’s biologics manufacturing facility, while his fiancee Grace is furthering her medical career at a top American hospital.
Carmody, prior to taking the US job, was in Pfizer’s Little Island in Co Cork. “We came in winter and got off easy with the weather, despite temperatures of minus 15.”
In 2007, he graduated from Industrial and Pharmaceutical Chemistry in UL. He did a work placement with another pharmaceutical company, but “the placement students I lived with at the time were in Pfizer and spoke very highly of it, so it was a company that was on my mind when finishing University,” he says.
Graduate programme
In September 2007, through the graduate programme, he joined Pfizer as a technical supervisor. “It was great because I was responsible for a process, but it’s in a controlled environment with support structures for learning and development.”
Through the programme he was exposed to the whole manufacturing environment, from supply chain to quality assurance. On completion, he became a full-time process engineer.”
Life overseas
In 2015, he became engineer, maintenance and utilities lead for Little Island, where he led a team of 40 colleagues. In 2018, he wanted opportunities abroad, and Pfizer’s global presence “made it possible”. In his new role, as capital projects management lead, he manages a team of project managers overseeing almost 30 capital projects in total with an expected spend for this year of approximately $35 milion. “Our global footprint and our culture of continuous improvement means opportunities to travel exist and this is something Pfizer actively encourages.” The assignment in Andover is for two years, after which time he will return to his home position in Cork.
Meanwhile, he visits home, “Grace and I are flying home in two days to get married!”
[ pfizer.com/careers/en-ir/Opens in new window ]