From deployment to Project Director: How RAF discipline and leadership forged Darren’s career at ALTEN

The call to service and structure

At just 19 years old, Darren made a deliberate choice; he wasn’t interested in just any job, he was looking for a technical career path with a clear sense of purpose and structure. That quest led him to the Royal Air Force (RAF), where he began a seven-year journey as a deployable Communications Engineer.

His military career was defined by rapid, real-world experience including deployments to Afghanistan and the Libya conflict around the age of 21. For seven years, he was tasked with full-time management of a comms unit, an environment that demanded immediate, clear-headed problem-solving. As Darren notes, “When you land and are tasked for your first task on deployment, you have to quickly pull upon your training”. The continuous “pressure cooker” of operations taught him to make real-time decisions using only the information available, a skill he now identifies as vital for success in engineering.

Beyond his deployments, Darren demonstrated his commitment to continuous growth by using his Enhanced Learning Credits to complete a degree while in the military, laying the academic foundation for his future civilian career.

Transferable skills: The blueprint for engineering leadership

Today, Darren is a Project Director for all Defence and Aerospace activities at ALTEN, a role he reached in just 3.5 years, rapidly moving through the ranks from Consultant to Project Lead. His success, he asserts, is built on the core competencies the military instils.

“The military excel at cultivating a leadership mentality,” Darren says, calling it the “best place he’s ever seen this happen.” This clear respect for command and control and the significant investment in training are what he brings to the corporate world.

In fact, he has directly applied this cultural ethos at ALTEN by creating an intensive onboarding program for new recruits called the Accelerator. Designed to mimic the military’s emphasis on a cohesive “family aspect,” the Accelerator focuses on team-building and engineering-focused collaboration. Darren proudly notes that teams who go through this process have seen a 30% increase in retention, highlighting the profound impact of cultivating a strong sense of belonging and structure.

Transition and the power of purpose

The decision to transition out of full-time service was a personal one, driven by a desire to settle down with his wife (also in the RAF) and start a family after years of six-month deployment cycles.

The shift, however, was not without its hurdles. The greatest challenge was the lack of structure and the unexpected absence of likeminded people who share the specific culture of the armed forces. For many service leavers, this emotional and cultural change, leaving their “family” behind, is the hardest part.

This experience fuels his passion for giving back. Darren and his wife are active advocates for military mental health, supporting charities like SSAFA (Soldiers’, Sailors’, and Airmen’s Families Association) and Combat Stress. He wants to ensure other veterans don’t struggle in isolation, emphasising the critical need for a supportive community.

One experience illustrates this beautifully: during a three-peaks challenge for charity, his group, 14 relative strangers, refused to descend until the last person had made it, demonstrating a profound, instant comradery that only those who serve truly understand. His biggest goal now is to establish a corporate sponsorship package at ALTEN for a veteran-focused charity, such as the Reese Foundation, to institutionalise this support.

The strategic advantage of hiring veterans

Darren is a firm believer that service leavers are an unparalleled resource for the engineering sector.

“You will get people who get the job done,” he states. Veterans bring a high level of autonomy, tenacity, and adaptability. Even in the face of misconceptions, such as the worry that a veteran might have the “urge to move” jobs every few years, Darren sees a synergy with ALTEN’s project-based model, where constantly shifting roles and locations perfectly satisfy the veteran’s drive for new challenges.

His final message to companies is clear: businesses must be mindful of the transition challenges and provide the necessary structure and transparency to support their new recruits. “This is not just another job for these people. They are upheaving their life,” he cautions. However, for a company willing to invest and understand the unique qualities of service, “the return on investment is significant.”