SMI Futures Early Career Profile: Gemma Turner

In the latest SMIFutures Early Career Profile, Gemma Turner, Associate Director at Beckett Rankine reflects on how curiosity, variety and resilience have shaped her career - from geotechnical engineering to leading complex port projects around the world — and shares insights on tackling challenging ground conditions, working hands-on with specialist vessels on site, and the opportunities ahead for young professionals as the industry adapts to new technology and greener ways of working.

1. What initially attracted you to the maritime industry, and why did you choose it as a career path?

I have always wanted to be a civil engineer since discovering it when my eldest brother went to study it at university. I started out my career in the built environment working as a geotechnical engineer designing basements and building foundations for 8 years. I got exposed to the maritime industry 6 years ago in my previous company. Once I dipped a toe working on the design a of a port expansion in Sierra Leone, I decided that this was the field for me and made the full-time switch into maritime geotechnical engineering in 2022.

2. What initially attracted you to your company, and why did you choose it for your career path?

I was attracted to Beckett Rankine because of the variety of projects that they work on from port projects internationally, through to more local projects in London looking at historic river walls and new passenger ferry terminals. The size of the company being a small SME with less than 50 staff also appealed to me as I felt I could have a direct influence on projects.

3. Can you tell us about your educational background and how it prepared you for your current role in the maritime industry?

I studied maths, physics and chemistry at A-level and was generally interested in the mechanical side of maths and physics. These subjects then led me into a civil engineering degree at university. Civil engineering is a broad subject and so you cover a wide range of subjects including structural engineering, geotechnical engineering, infrastructure design, coastal engineering, etc.

My degree prepared me for my current role because it taught me the fundamental first principles of engineering design. I specialise in geotechnical engineering in the design of various maritime structures. I use my degree daily to solve engineering design challenges.

4. Can you share any memorable experiences or projects you've worked on?

One of my favourite projects to work on was the construction a of a new berth at the Port of Freetown in Sierra Leone. I was involved in the design of the new structure from concept through to detailed design for construction. I then had the opportunity to attend site to supervise the dredging and reclamation campaign. The berth was designed as a twin-wall cofferdam using dredged sand to backfill and reclaim land between the walls. This was my first time working on a dredger, it was amazing to see these specialist vessels at work and to see the project come to life in real time. It was a particularly challenging project due to poor ground conditions and so my direct involvement and direction on site was a great experience for me to challenge and expand my engineering knowledge.

5. What do you find most rewarding about working in the maritime industry, and what motivates you to continue pursuing your career in this field?

One of the biggest motivations and enjoyments about my current role is the variety of work. This variety can be both in scale from small river wall schemes near to where I live in London, through to large international port development projects around the world. A lot of my recent work has involved travel to various West African countries to oversee construction and dredging activities. This has allowed me to travel to regions I would never have before considered and see other parts of the world and different cultures. I’m a big traveller and foody and love to try different foods wherever I go, so being able to do this as part of my job is amazing!

6. How do you envision the future of the maritime industry, and what role do you believe young professionals will play in shaping its trajectory?

The maritime industry is a constantly adapting and involving industry. As with all other industries, there is a lot of drive to make ports and shipping more sustainable. A lot of exploration is currently ongoing into future fuels, as well as electrification of vessels and ports. This is combined with fast evolving new technologies, including AI. I believe young professionals coming into the industry will have a lot of opportunity to shape how technology is integrated into the industry to improve efficiency and make operations cleaner and greener. In particular, in relation to the civil engineering design side, this will be new technologies to undertake design, but could also include new construction materials and greater reuse and repurposing of existing infrastructure.