Waters
For over 60 years, Waters has developed innovative analytical science solutions to support customer discoveries, operations, performance, and regulatory compliance. Waters
Our Scholarships
Placement Location
Wilmslow
Type of Placements Offered
• Summer placements only
Restrictions/Notes
No first year students
2024/25 Scholarships
One new scholarship
Who we are and what we do
Waters Corporation (NYSE: WAT), the world’s leading specialty measurement company, has pioneered chromatography, mass spectrometry and thermal analysis innovations serving the life, materials and food sciences for 60 years. With approximately 7,000 employees worldwide, Waters operates directly in 31 countries, including 15 manufacturing facilities, and with products available in more than 100 countries.
At Wilmslow, our focus is on the development and delivery of mass spectrometry systems and software in a collaborative and dynamic team environment. Our mass spectrometers deliver benefits to customers in many industries and make a meaningful impact to our lives through examples such as:
- Neo-natal screening to keep babies healthy
- Ensuring consistent, reliable safety in our global food and water supply
- Developing new medicinal therapies to advance human health
- Ensuring participants in the world’s sporting events compete fairly
The Waters Electronics Design Team develops cutting edge electronics for Waters Mass Spectrometers. This includes bespoke high bandwidth acquisition systems, very low noise high voltage power supplies, high voltage RF, complex digital processing implementations and other instrument control logic.
What you could be doing during your work placement
At Waters, we believe in delivering innovative technology and system solutions to our valued customers. As a placement student working in an industry leading Electronics Development Team, you will be involved with the development, design and support of electronic sub-assemblies for leading edge scientific products.
Working within the Wilmslow Electronics team will give you the opportunity to develop the skills learnt at university in a real working environment. You will be exposed to a full range of electronics disciplines: high speed digital, complex analogue, FPGAs, microcontrollers and system design. We also encourage to develop management and leadership skills. You may also have the opportunity to work with our offshore teams in India and Singapore.
Meet one of our Scholars
Name: Sam
Sponsor: Waters
University: University of Sheffield
Degree Course: BEng Electrical and Electronic Engineering
What appeals to you about Electronics?
Throughout secondary school and college, I was always interested in the theory behind the sciences, however it was applying this theory in a practical sense that brought me the most joy. Electronics provided me with a perfect balance between theory and hands on practical work. Unlike other engineering disciplines, electronics allows you to be involved from day 1 of an idea to the creation and production of the design. This allows me to feel a real sense of worth and that I’m making a change in the engineering world.
Why did you want a scholarship with Waters?
Waters Corporation caught my attention because of their involvement in the health and wellbeing sector and with the recent global pandemic I believed it was a company where I could really make a difference to people’s lives. Also, after researching Waters more, I discovered they offer a very wide range of disciplines with many opportunities to move round and progress all while staying in their state-of-the-art facilities.
What type of work have you been involved with during your placement?
While undertaking my summer placement, I have worked in conjunction with the Electronics team to complete a project in which an alternative SODIMM was created to harbor a cheaper more widely available FPGA due to the ongoing worldwide shortage of electronic parts. This project allowed me to get a sense of how a long-term project would flow, and the problems that could be faced along the way, as well as giving me a wide range of new technical skills such as Schematic design and VHDL programing.
Due to the nature of the project I was given during my placement, it really allowed me to feel part of the Electronics team and a valued employee. The support throughout really outlines the helping nature of the company and how everyone has your best interests in mind.
What are your hobbies and interests?
Outside of Electronics, I have a passion for a wide range of sports. I play football, cricket and golf while also being an avid runner. I am part of the cricket society at the University of Sheffield where, as well as playing cricket on a weekly basis, we partake in many charity events such as Move for Movember and the Sheffield half marathon.
Meet one of our Engineers
Name: Adam
Job Title: Electronic Engineer
How did you get here?
I love that electronics is all around us, continuously changing the world, and developing at a faster than any other technology in history. I love that it is endlessly complex; there will always be more to learn about anything you want to learn more about. Most of all, I love being at the forefront of new technological development.
The more I learnt about Waters, the more I thought it was a great opportunity. I initially chose Waters because of the wide range of specialisms within electronics which I would be able to get a flavour for, and because I liked that it created products that have a huge and wide-reaching impact on human health. When I started my placement, the other engineers were incredibly welcoming (and if I’m being honest, patient), making sure I felt like I was of the team. Since graduating from university, and the UKESF Scholarship Scheme, I have now started a graduate job with Waters.
What have you been working on?
During my university placement, as part of the EEE team, another scholar and I worked to redesign and update a part used in many of Waters’ products so that it can be made more cheaply. This involved hardware design and the development of FPGA firmware, and gave me experience of a full, if accelerated, design project from start to end. What I enjoyed about the project was that it integrated with other projects that the company was working on, and that I got to work closely with other full-time engineers during the project.
What are your personal interests?
My main interests outside of electronics are languages and linguistics – I am proficient in Spanish, and my current fixations are French and Japanese. I also enjoy travelling and reading, particularly science fiction and attempting foreign-language books in the original language.