Irina graduated from the Polytechnic Institute in Bucharest, where she developed a strong foundation in engineering principles. Twenty years ago, her life took a significant turn when she moved to the UK after meeting her husband. Shortly after settling in, she secured her first role as a design engineer at a design company. While this experience was valuable, she quickly realized that it was not entirely aligned with her passions and career aspirations. Her interest was piqued when she saw an advertisement for Darchem. She took the time to research the company and was immediately attracted to their innovative products and comprehensive services. She was also impressed by their friendly and professional environment, as well as their strong commitment to sustainability—values that resonate deeply with her own. She was eager to join a company where she could continuously learn and develop her skills.
Most of Irina’s experience has been gained through marine-related projects, which she finds particularly fascinating. The first major project she worked on was an aircraft carrier, where she was part of the design team responsible for designing the exhaust and intake systems—an achievement she is very proud of. Since then, she has contributed to other notable projects, including ships for the Malaysian navy, the Type 23 frigates, and the Type 45 destroyers. She also worked on the Indian folding fire barrier project, which was installed on an Indian naval vessel.
These projects have given me valuable experience in naval and defense engineering, requiring precision, innovation, and collaboration across multidisciplinary teams.
In addition, she was involved in the Hinkley Point nuclear power station project, where she spent several years modeling and drafting pool liners and their features. This role required close collaboration with manufacturing and inspection teams, as she liaised regularly with the shop floor to ensure designs were accurately translated into physical components and to support quality control.
Over the past year, Irina has dedicated herself to expanding her technical expertise by learning and developing skills in Finite Element Analysis (FEA). She has successfully applied FEA techniques to a marine project she is currently working on.
She is passionate about continuous learning and looks forward to applying her experience and skills to new and challenging projects.