“In awe of the universe”
A Q&A with Flight Lieutenant Verrier, recipient of the 2024 Maria Skyllas-Kazacos Young Professional Award for Outstanding Achievement
Published on the 16 August 2024
Kaylee Verrier was one of three incredible engineers recognised at the UNSW Women in Engineering Alumni Awards in June. An Aeronautical Engineer at the Royal Australian Air Force, Flight Lieutenant Verrier was presented with the Maria Skyllas-Kazacos Young Professional Award for Outstanding Achievement.
Having completed a Bachelor of Aeronautical Engineering in 2019 at UNSW Canberra, Flight Lieutenant Verrier continued to graduate with a Master of Space Engineering. She now specialises in space engineering in the RAAF and has worked with rocket systems, test launches, and helped project manage large-scale design, test and evaluation projects, including a high-profile joint Australia-US Aerospace development.
In this interview, Flight Lieutenant Verrier draws from her career experiences to shine light on common misunderstandings of the engineering profession and explains how creativity and engineering are not mutually exclusive.
What inspired you to be part of engineering?
I have been in awe of the universe and the way the world works for as long as I can remember. I’ve always loved figuring out how and why things work and am constantly amazed by the technology and science around me. Creating things from nothing has a special kind of appeal for me too, it’s a way of combining art with science. For me, studying physics, maths, and engineering was studying to understand the world – and then create things from it! Engineering is all about using physics to bring systems to life and I just absolutely love that.
What keeps you motivated and engaged in your work?
The constantly evolving opportunities, which is why I think engineering in the military is especially enjoyable. I love to travel and meet new people with shared interests and passions, and I get that a lot in my current work. Engineering is amazing because it’s the same regardless of where you are in the world. It’s maths and physics and creativity all coming together. I am so genuinely excited by new technologies and jump at opportunities such as visiting Gilmour Space Technologies in Queensland and SpaceX Headquarters in LA, which remind me of how exciting technology in the aeronautical and astronautical world is. It’s a good reminder as to why we do what we do. I meet engineers from other countries such as The Netherlands, Spain and Italy who have the same love of space and systems that I do, and it brings us together with a common background, regardless of nationality, which is pretty special.
What has been your most fulfilling career achievement to date?
I have been lucky to experience a lot of incredible moments and be part of some very impressive projects already in my career. The most fulfilling achievement would have to be getting told I was selected to win the Maria Skyllas-Kazacos Young Professional Award for Outstanding Achievement because it meant that I was worthy of paying attention to. I just do what I do because I love it and it’s fun, so being told it was worthy of recognition was pretty special. I must say that Graduating my Masters of Space Engineering was pretty fulfilling as well – that was quite a challenging couple years around full-time work!
What do you think are the key challenges facing engineers in the next few years?
I think people don’t understand what engineering is and how many various directions and opportunities there are in it, which can risk reducing people’s interest in the field. There are so many different fields of engineering, and most people don’t know that. As an Aeronautical and Space Engineer, I get exposure to such a vast range of jobs and activities from launch systems to satellites and aircraft as well. There are options for design work, or acquisition, or even operations. There is also the ongoing challenge of getting non-engineers to understand what engineers can bring to the table in various job roles – it’s not just maths, it’s an intelligent problem-solving way of thinking, and a creative solution process.
What advice do you have for young people considering a career in engineering?
I couldn’t recommend engineering enough. It is so constantly rewarding both professionally and personally. It teaches you a way to view the world that you just don’t get in other fields. It’s a way of taking science and creating new systems from it. The degree is hard for sure – and it needs to be – but the jobs on offer are worth every minute of it. There is so much opportunity in the world for engineers and people with the right STEM background and passion. Space Engineering is my passion, and I found a pathway there pretty quickly – even though it’s not where I started out.
It’s also not one thing or another. You don’t have to give up a love of outdoors or art or music to go into engineering. I have done art my whole life and live to travel and explore the outdoors, so I think it’s important to move away from stereotypes and remember that engineers come in all shapes and sizes. I had the pleasure of leading a team on the Kokoda Track last year, I rode bikes through the Outback with an amazing group of women from work a couple years ago, and I have my Advanced Scuba Diving licence – plus I’ve worked with members from over 25 different countries already! The world is your oyster and there is no reason engineering can or will ever hold you back form experiencing it.
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