He then worked in a number of electronic engineering businesses conducting research. He was a member of technical staff at Bell Telephone Laboratories from 1968 to 1974 and then became a Senior Principal in the UK Ministry of Defence developing silicon technology. In the 1980s he moved to GEC Marconi and in the 1990s became Chief Scientist in Nortel Technology. McCaughan has been awarded over 20 patents. He has published over 100 academic papers and book chapters on both technical and managerial subjects.[4]