Louise Rush – Engineering
Louise Rush joined BAE Systems in January 2005 as a Senior Airworthiness Engineer, working as part of the Tornado & General Projects team at BAE Systems’ Warton site, on the Lancashire coast.
She undertakes a range of tasks including raising flight clearance paperwork, reviewing design and test evidence and learning about the safety aspects involved in allowing military aircraft to fly. As part of the department’s Communications Forum she helps raise the profile of airworthiness generally.
“I got a first class honours degree in Aeronautical Systems Engineering from the University of Salford in 1998. The thick sandwich course also meant I achieved a Diploma in Professional Studies for the year in industry I did with Lockheed Martin as a Qualification Engineer, based at Portsmouth.
“After graduation, I joined the Merlin Helicopter Programme, working for Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), outsourced to Lockheed Martin. Now I’m really enjoying my role in BAE Systems because I like the feeling of being part of a larger team that has some very clear – and pressing – milestones. I have worked in various engineering disciplines; Qualification, Design Certification, Airworthiness and Integration and Test, and I like the idea of being ‘at the end of the line’ – we are the ones who actually make sure the aircraft is okay to fly.
“Since 2000 I have been involved with INSIGHT week, run by the Science, Engineering & Manufacturing Technologies Alliance. This is a residential course run each year at UK universities, aimed at giving young women an ‘INSIGHT’ into engineering. It allows students to meet professional engineers and get a feel for what engineering is all about.”
Paid leave
“BAE Systems helped me attend this year by granting three days’ paid leave and my manager allowed me to ‘flexi’ the other two. It’s great fun and of course it helps me to remember why I became an engineer in the first place!
“There are plenty of opportunities in a company like this, and eventually I’d like to move on to project management, but right now I’m still fairly new and enjoying the challenge of the engineering environment.”
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