Engineer a Career
Formula Student to Formula One
Episode 68 of the Engineer a Career Podcast, with Josh joined by TJ Scott, a Formula One engineer and fellow Glasgow Caledonian University alumnus. TJ grew up building fast, unlikely cars with his dad in the family workshop. That was where he first asked how you take something that works and design it properly on paper before cutting any metal. School didn't go to plan. His route through education ran through City of Glasgow College, two difficult years at Strathclyde, and a fresh start in first year at GCU, where he stayed through to his masters. At GCU he helped found GCU Racing, the university's first Formula Student team. He talks through starting it in 2019 and keeping it alive through COVID from his bedroom. The team restarted in 2023 with a store room, an old welder and five weeks to build a car before Silverstone. During powertrain design judging that week, a judge from Mercedes picked him out, and he went straight to a final interview. TJ joined Mercedes High Performance Powertrains as a graduate in 2024. Within months he was designing oil pump internals, and he went on to work on the hybrid system under the new 2026 regulations. The conversation covers what Formula Student teaches beyond engineering and why industry keeps hunting for ten years of experience instead of growing it. TJ also explains why he gave up his chance to drive the car so the team could run without him. His advice to students in any year is simple: find the society that is building something, and get stuck in. A conversation about false starts, sideways moves, and what happens when capability finally gets seen.
