#AmazingJobsAtSafranNacelles - Sébastien - "Safran gave me the opportunity to discover multiple horizons"

“I always wanted to be an engineer.” says Sébastien. “I saw myself working in the world of motorsport or sailing, where composite materials brought a real revolution in terms of mass and resistance. I discovered aerospace during my graduate internship, and I was seduced. That’s how I became a composite buyer at Safran Nacelles in Le Havre."

Stay close to the technique

Very quickly, Sébastien realised that he loves learning and regularly discovering new horizons. This desire guided his future professional decisions. After taking charge of a small team of buyers, he decided to get closer to the technical, and took up the role of Composite Manufacturing Engineering and Industrialisation Manager on the Airbus A380 programme. Three years later, he expatriated to Los Angeles to oversee Safran Nacelles’ challenges with several American suppliers. 

Back in Le Havre, he directed a composite materials production unit dedicated to the manufacture of Resin Transfer Moulding (RTM) ⁽¹⁾ for the Boeing 787's landing gear struts, before taking full lead on the programme. “It was a complex product with a lot at stake: acceleration of the production ramp-up, improvement of delivery times and, quality, etc." he recalls. “Boeing’s decision to stop this technology on the B787 struts led us to withdraw the programme from service. It was a real collective challenge, but also a rewarding experience, marked by the repositioning of the teams and gaining high value know-how."

The discovery of the world of services

Sébastien then evolved towards a new field: After-Sales Support. As manager of service contracts within the Customer Support and Services department, his role was to guarantee the satisfaction of the operators who operate Safran's nacelles, but also the financial profitability of the company. “At that time,” he says, “our service offering was under construction. We laid the foundation for what is now NacelleLife®, a comprehensive range of services covering the entire nacelle lifecycle, from commissioning to aircraft maintenance and withdrawal from operations." 

Then, a new evolution: Sébastien took over the management of sales administration for maintenance and repair activities. “Management has always been close to my heart," he says. “I like to bring people together, to give meaning around a shared vision and objectives, to help my colleagues develop their skills, to shine a light on them, to give them confidence…” 

Return to Customer Support

After returning to Programmes as assistant manager on the Comac C919 medium-haul nacelle, Sébastien finally rejoined Customer Support. For the past three years, he has managed the team of Customer Support Programme Managers (CSPM) dedicated to long-haul nacelles. "CSPM plays a coordinating role between internal teams and customers." he explains. “Just like programme managers, but on the after-sales side. There, again, the challenge was to find the balance between customer satisfaction and company's profitability. In addition, the topics are very diverse: we have programmes ramping up as well as programmes at the end of their life or even stopped, which brings variety to my work."

If he believes he still has a lot to learn, Sébastien also wants to bring added value to Safran Nacelles, by getting involved in low-carbon initiatives for example. He participated, along with his team, in the development of a strategy to reuse the thrust reversers of the Airbus A330⁽²⁾. “The principle is simple: instead of manufacturing new reversers, we buy back and refurbish reversers that have already flown.” he summarises. “The estimated saving is 90 tons of CO₂ per reverser, e.g. the annual emissions for about ten French people. We can be proud to contribute, at our level, to the decarbonisation of air transport."

⁽¹⁾ Resin Transfer Moulding is a method of injecting resin into a form composed of three-dimensionally woven carbon fibres. 
⁽²⁾ in its Trent 700 motorised version.