Today Ana works in the human factors team at our Warton site, helping to shape how the next generation of pilots will interact with the aircraft.
Ana joined us through our Graduate Accelerate scheme. A summer internship two years earlier gave her a first sense of the work and helped secure her position on the scheme.
With a degree in psychology, a role in the human factors team wasn't the obvious next step. It turned out to be a good fit. Human factors is the study of how people interact with the things they use and the environments they work in. For pilots, that means understanding the most effective way for a person to operate a fast jet under pressure. It draws on psychology, engineering and design in equal measure.
A team built on different backgrounds
The team Ana joined reflects that mix. It brings together a broad range of skillsets including engineers, people who have studied psychology and product designers. Each brings a different perspective to the same question: how do we help a pilot perform safely when they're managing extreme demands? Designing for the human in the cockpit calls for an understanding of how people think, how they react and how technology can support them rather than overload them.
Working on future cockpit technology
Ana's focus is on future cockpit technology, and in particular body haptics. One example is the haptic vest, which uses vibration to alert a pilot to a threat or change in their environment. Trials have shown that pilots respond more quickly and intuitively to a vibration cue than to visual or audio warnings, especially in stressful situations.
We're now taking steps to integrate that technology into flight clothing, making it smaller, lighter and better integrated into the pilot’s clothing. Ana tests the technology in a simulated cockpit environment in our virtual cockpit facility at Warton. Where she sees that it's ready, she puts forward recommendations to move it to the next level of technical readiness.
Part of her work involves understanding when a pilot is reaching the limits of their attention load. Ana uses eye tracking glasses that measures pupil size and blinking rate to assess stress and cognitive load. That data helps us develop technology that keeps pilots informed without overwhelming them, so they can stay focused on the task in front of them.
A stretch beyond the cockpit
Ana is also on a stretch assignment that takes her work in a different direction. As part of a project called 'Hospitals of the Future', she's helping to design a 'difficult airways trolley', optimising the layout of the trolley and the medical kit it carries. The principles are familiar. Whether it's a pilot or a clinician, the goal is the same: design the equipment and the environment so that people can perform at their best when it matters most.
A family connection to our work
Ana is the third generation of her family to work at BAE Systems. Her grandfather worked on submarines at Barrow and her father in the air sector at Warton.
Ana's journey is a reminder that the people behind our technology come from many different places. If you're considering where your degree could take you, explore our early careers opportunities to find out more
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