Meet Cara - Software Engineer

Why did you want to become an engineer?

From a young age, I enjoyed being around people. I was involved in lots of extracurricular activities at school, and part of groups outside of school such as guiding. I loved leading teams and activities as I enjoyed helping people achieve. I enjoy being responsible for tasks and collaborating with others to complete them. It's important to me that I work face to face with people.
 
My family always enjoyed playing puzzles together, like jigsaws, board games and word searches. The experience I have in maths from school and problem solving from a young age was a key enabler to me being able to understand software and aerospace engineering.
 
I have also been dancing since I was 3 years old - ballet, modern, and tap dancing, and I have always enjoyed art. I enjoy expressing myself creatively and challenging myself to new things, so I actively try new sports to challenge myself. I see creativity and wanting to try new things a key part to engineering – particularly in roles which require big picture or out the box thinking.

Why did you choose to study Software Engineering?

When I was choosing my GCSE options, my IT teacher suggested that I join the first group of students to complete a Computer Science GCSE. From there, I took my A Levels and wanted to do maths and computer science at university. My mum suggested I look at the BAE Systems Apprenticeship, and I applied. I thank my mum for the reason I am here – in a job with lots of people, collaborating across the world, learning new things every day, and working on incredible things. 

What makes your role exciting?

The part I find the most exciting is how important software is for 6th generation aircraft. I work as part of a team who are setting the strategy and building the organisation which will be fundamental to the platform - something I never thought I would be doing at this early stage in my career. Day to day, I utilise all the things I learnt from my early career, and the learning doesn’t stop – I really enjoy learning about new things. 
 
I enjoy working with lots of different people and learning about a wide range of activities, both of which are essential for the jobs I do now. Integration for me means having strong collaboration and people skills as well as being able to understand complex engineering problems in order to integrate across various areas. It's exciting because you get to learn about lots of different areas and work as the glue pulling various things such as people, systems and capabilities together.

What skills from your education does your role build on?

From my degree, I have a good understanding of the foundations of software engineering including methodologies such as Agile and Waterfall, as well as more technical aspects such as Objective Oriented Programming and experience working with different languages.
 
The Software Engineering Degree Apprenticeship Scheme helped me to build a lot of skills such as communication and teamwork, as well as my first experience of a corporate role. I gained experience working across the whole company, giving me a solid foundation for my career. I am really grateful that I was able to achieve a first-class degree through the BAE Systems apprenticeship scheme. My apprenticeship really set me up for life.

Do you draw on any skills from outside of work?

Outside of work, I am creative and enjoy being around people. I have been dancing since I was 3 and I love art – these two pull on my creative side and help me to bring new ideas to the table. 

What skills have you developed since being in your current role?

I've developed a lot of new skills in my role. Thinking outside the box with new technologies such as how we utilise AI and Chatbots, collaborating with different cultures, and managing work-life balance when travelling.

What would you say to someone considering a career in Software Engineering?

I would say that there are a variety of exciting roles in the software engineering space. You can be a software specialist and build knowledge in software, and you can move into engineering management, and be the voice for software engineers. The latter is the area I am focusing on for my career. I would recommend keeping your eyes open for opportunities and saying yes to as much as you can!

How do you think you will feel when Tempest flies for the first time?

I think I will feel an enormous sense of pride when I see Tempest fly for the first time. I know that the work I do substantially contributes to the programme and the capability of the aircraft. I feel I have the responsibility to be the voice for software engineers for this programme, and I am passionate about bringing all the great engineering minds together to create something new and more capable than any other aircraft on the planet.