John Longmuir Penman Brodie was born in Dumfries in 1899. He served his apprenticeship at Arrol-Johnston Ltd, a Scottish automobile manufacturer. He went on to work at De Havilland Aircraft Co, eventually becoming a company director.

During the First World War, Brodie worked on the design of the Beardmore-Halford-Pullinger aero engine with Frank Halford, the technical director at De Havilland Aircraft Co. Brodie subsequently joined Halford in his work as a consultant designer. Halford and Brodie together developed the Puma and the air-cooled V-8 Renault aero engines, designed the Gipsy engine for manufacture by de Havilland, and originated the air-cooled Napier Rapier and Dagger engines.

By 1940 Brodie had taken over the administration of the department involved in reconditioning Rolls-Royce Merlin engines. He was also responsible for the engineering management of the De Havilland Engine and Propeller Divisions. This led to work on centrifugal and axial turbo-jets, on hydrogen-peroxide rockets, and finally on the licence-built General Electric T-58 turbo shaft engine for helicopters.

At the time of his death in 1959 he was a director of the De Havilland Engine Co.