Life as a Modelling and Simulation Engineer

Introduction

Being a Modelling and Simulation Engineer is akin to being a magician in the modern world. People aren’t entirely sure how you do what you do, but they expect you to pull a rabbit out of a hat on demand. You’re the lone conjurer in a sea of skeptics, the solitary strategist juggling requests from every corner of the company, and somehow, you’re supposed to keep everyone happy. It’s a job that demands technical mastery, endless patience, and just a pinch of prestidigitation. Here’s a look at what life is really like in this peculiar profession.

Flying Solo

Simulation isn’t exactly the most crowded field, and in many organisations, you’re the one and only on a particular project. That means you’re not just the architect of the model but also its ambassador, interpreter, and, when things go awry, its unfortunate scapegoat. You can play both the star of the show and the entire supporting cast - scriptwriter, director, and occasionally, the person sweeping up after the performance.

On the bright side, this solo status grants you a great deal of autonomy. You call the shots, steer the ship, and, let’s be honest, often hold the whole thing together with little more than duct tape and determination. On the downside, when something goes wrong, you’re often the one left holding the bag - or rather, the model that didn’t quite behave as expected. The trick is to stay organised, maintain a sense of humour, and remember that Rome wasn’t built in a day - or a week, or sometimes, even a fiscal quarter.

Modelling: A Masterclass in Stakeholder Management

Here’s something they probably didn’t tell you in university: modelling isn’t just about crunching numbers and writing code. It’s actually a masterclass in stakeholder management. In large organisations, Modelling and Simulation is often treated as its own department, a mystical land where the impossible is made probable, and the improbable is rendered practical.

Staff in this department are either embedded within project teams or run a service-type operation. Either way, you, as the Modelling and Simulation engineer, must balance the demands of your “clients” - be they internal or external - with the directives of your home team, who have their own agendas and ambitions. You’ll often find yourself caught in the crossfire, trying to reconcile these competing interests while keeping the modelling both objective and operational.

It’s a bit like being the referee in a particularly heated football match - everyone’s got an opinion, although some people are strangely shy about sharing it until after the fact. Your job is to get everyone’s views on the table, keep the peace, and ensure that the final model actually reflects reality, not just the wishful thinking of the loudest voice in the room.

Connecting the Dots Across Departments

“The error in an organisation is at its interfaces [between departments]” - paraphrased from Elon Musk.

One of the more entertaining aspects of being a Modelling and Simulation Engineer is how your work crosses departmental boundaries. You’re the person who has to make sense of what the engineers, finance team, and operations folks are all saying - and somehow turn it into a coherent model.

In many organisations, these departments operate in their own little bubbles, rarely communicating with one another except when absolutely necessary. But when a big decision needs to be made, suddenly everyone’s very interested in what the simulation has to say. It’s your model that brings these disparate teams together, helping them see the bigger picture, understand the trade-offs, and make informed decisions. You are the glue that holds the operation together, even if no one realises it.

The Quest for Graphics

Everyone wants their simulation to look like it was made by Pixar, but here’s the reality: you’re a one-person band, not a AAA game studio. Sure, a pretty picture is nice, but your priority is creating a model that works, that provides insights, that answers questions—not one that dazzles with unnecessary flair.

Explaining this to stakeholders can be a bit of a challenge. They’ve seen fancy visualisations somewhere and assume you can whip up something similar in your spare time. It’s up to you to gently, or not-so-gently, manage these expectations and remind them that substance trumps style - especially when it comes to making decisions that could cost the company millions. Sometimes an animation is necessary, especially if you need to get a lot of people quickly onboard with how a simulation works, but graphics should be kept simple. The minimum required to communicate the simulation’s behaviour is usually enough.

So…

Life as a Modelling and Simulation Engineer is a mix of technical challenges and people wrangling. You’re the unsung hero who connects the dots across departments, manages a multitude of expectations, and somehow keeps the ship sailing smoothly - all while working solo most of the time. It’s a job that demands a thick skin, a sharp mind, and a healthy dose of dry humour.

If you’re already in this field, you know exactly what I’m talking about. And if you’re considering a career in modelling and simulation, welcome aboard. It’s a challenging gig, but there’s never a dull moment.

If you want to level up your skills in modelling and simulation, leave your email address below, and I’ll keep you updated when the course goes live. In the meantime, I’ll send you a free guide to simulation in Python, which you can digest while you wait.