Haynes, 28, works as a senior lifecycle engineer within the company’s defence division. Her role supports the smooth running of gas turbines on warships – aircraft carriers, frigates, destroyers – which includes dealing with routine maintenance and influencing long-term strategy that “keeps a complex system working for 50 years”.
But what Haynes loves most about her job is witnessing what these chunks of metal
can achieve at sea – the “real impact” they make to the lives
of thousands of people.
“When I look at the Queen Elizabeth-class carriers, those ships can carry 1,500 people. Each one is a mini city,” she says. “As well as propelling the ship,
the crew rely on the gas turbine to eat, to keep the lights on, to power the hospital bay and to charge their phones. The power plant is keeping more than a thousand people safe and looked after.”
Making choices
Haynes grew up in Kent, the youngest of three sisters, who routinely helped their dad, a builder, to fix things around the house or service the car.
“I was that kid who was saving bits of rubbish, inventing things, sticking things together, opening TV remotes and breaking things,” she recalls. “I was always very curious, hands-on and creative.”
Then one of her older sisters became a civil engineer. Until then, Haynes never made
the connection between her interests and a potential career.
“She was the first in my immediate family to go to university and opened my eyes
to what was possible,” Haynes says. “I started to form a goal.
To dream and focus my efforts.
It felt like it was all I wanted to do.”
But during her final years at school, that engineering dream was far from guaranteed. Haynes enjoyed maths, science and physics – she likes the certainty
of a right or wrong answer – but struggled with the first of these subjects, so much so that her teacher told her to give it up.
“My dad was the only one working full-time then. There
were three children. And my
mum gave me the option to
either get a maths tutor or have pocket money,” she remembers.
“I wanted to be really responsible. I was set on engineering. It felt within reach. So I made the decision to get the maths tutor… and I’m very glad I did!”
Haynes stuck with the tutor for months, fixing the cracks in the foundations of her knowledge.
It was hard work but after that,
she says, things got a little easier.
Flying start
Another core memory from those early years was the Royal Air Force visiting her school, arriving in spectacular fashion. Watching
a Chinook helicopter hover overhead before coming in to land, releasing its all-female crew, stuck with Haynes, later leading her into the defence sector.
“It was incredible,” she says. “Those kinds of things make
such a difference in your life.”
Haynes wonders how many young engineers today lack role models like her sister, let alone helicopter crews swooping in to speak about STEM. Since joining IMechE during her studies at Coventry University, Haynes has been paying it back via outreach and volunteering for the Culture and Inclusion Committee as a Young Members Board representative. Now a chartered IMechE engineer, she attends conferences, helps to onboard new members, and is hoping to get more involved in policies that drive deeper, meaningful change.
When she meets young engineers, she encourages them to “speak up and be heard”. “Don’t think that just because you’re the new person no one needs to hear what you have to say. Organisations benefit from different opinions and perspectives. Ask new questions, reframe old questions and think differently.”
Sustainable career
Haynes sees an industry
that’s changing – there’s more awareness around engineering and more opportunities – but she’d like to see more done to keep engineers from leaving
the field (not unlike gas turbines on ships – it’s one thing to build them and another to keep them running for decades).
She isn’t sure where her
career will take her next, but
she’s studying towards a Level 7 Through-life System Sustainment master’s degree apprenticeship with Cranfield University. This aligns with her interest in making the gas turbines she works on more sustainable, involving finding ways to make them run more efficiently and reduce waste.
When she’s not at work, Haynes spends her free time walking or running with Maze, her Labrador, gardening, or doing something arty and creative, such as
baking or painting.
Her sisters live nearby and
her parents are planning a move to be closer to where she lives
in Gloucestershire, not wanting
to miss out on all the key life moments that lie ahead.
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Content published by Professional Engineering does not necessarily represent the views of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.