International Women in Engineering Day is June 23. Spirit AeroSystems wants to join the global community in celebrating the impact of women and girls in engineering and the contributions they make toward building a better and more sustainable future. 

Spirit continues to support and encourage women engineers by partnering with organizations like Catalyst, the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and the UK’s Women in Aviation & Aerospace Charter. Spirit Women in Engineering Professions & Technology (SWEPT) is a company-sponsored employee resource group focused on attracting, engaging and developing women in engineering and technology at Spirit. SWEPT’s mission is to provide support and networking opportunities to its members, while promoting  professional development, leadership and technical education with chapters at multiple Spirit locations.  

While diversifying our workforce includes all people and genders, we know that hearing the stories of women who have had successful careers in engineering can inspire young women and girls considering the profession to pursue their dreams.  

We celebrate women breaking barriers in this field and today, want to highlight seven engineers at Spirit who exhibit incredible talent and dedication in their area.  

Gillian Cameron is a Design Assurance Lead at Spirit AeroSystems and has been with the company for 19 years. She works within the Airworthiness and Product Assurance team in Spirit Prestwick and Spirit Belfast. Gillian began her career in the two-year graduate program where she had the opportunity to work in several different functions of the engineering department, and has since held roles in design, stress, process improvement and more.  

Gillian has a wide-range of responsibilities in her current role. She maintains the internal approvals and customer delegations for the Prestwick engineering team. She is also the lead auditor for engineering service provider audits for Spirit Europe – if engineering non-conformities arise, Gillian facilitates the corrective action sessions to help the teams determine the root cause and an effective solution. In addition, she is a member of the Engineering Quality Management System (EQMS) steering team, where she helps review any updates to the quality management system that impact engineers. 

Gillian hopes to encourage others to enter the profession and has been a STEM Ambassador for 17 years. She chose to enter engineering due to a love of mathematics, physics and problem-solving that she found while in school.  

Gillian holds a Bachelor of Engineering Honours Degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Glasgow, and is a Chartered Engineer and Member of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers.  

Majda Chnafa has been with Spirit AeroSystems Morocco for five years. She began her career at Spirit as a Transport & Customs Analysis, and was recently promoted to Warehouse Supervisor.  In this role, Majda applies her degree in Industrial Engineering to handle operations and logistics related to receiving and delivering parts to the production line, preparing kits, and monitoring inventory. Majda specializes in International Logistics, a field she chose due to the ample opportunities and her “organized and analytical nature.” 

Majda chose to continue her career with Spirit due to the company's values and opportunities for advancement. She says her time with Spirit has provided life-long learning opportunities that allow her to gain experience in a variety of areas.  

Majda credits her former manager at Spirit with encouraging her to step out of her comfort zone to make the most out of her education and talent. 

“Love what you do, it’s the best way to get where you want to be.” - Majda Chnafa 

Leah Condon is an Engineering Manager at Spirit Aerosystems’ headquarters in Wichita. She began her career with Spirit as a Structural Analysis Engineer, and throughout her 13 years with the company, has worked on various programs including the 737 MAX and 777X.  

Leah found interest in engineering early on, coming from a family with three generations of engineers. However, her interest in aerospace was initially sparked during a white-water canoeing trip high school where she observed concepts from Physics class applied outside the classroom. Leah learned how to perform various white-water canoeing maneuvers, including the upstream and downstream ferry. This experience coupled with her interest in applied physics introduced Leah to fluid dynamics, inspiring her to major in aerospace engineering at Iowa State University.   

Though Leah started her career in structural analysis, she always had a passion for fluid dynamics, and is thankful for the opportunity to apply those concepts managing the CCAT team, as well as the UltraFan, Core Computational Analysis and HiCAM engineering teams.   

Leah credits her many mentors at Spirit for influencing the career path she’s chosen with the Company, including Brian Meyer, Lea Anderson and Rebecca Altman. Leah’s former senior manager, Loren Keeley, recognized her talent and promoted her to a manager in 2020.  

Leah also attributes her success to the example and support of her mother and father. Seeing her mother succeed in a male-dominated field encouraged Leah to do the same. She’s also enjoyed the ability to share ideas with her father, a fellow engineer and soundboard throughout her career.   

“A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, butwhen there is nothing left to take away.” - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry 

Natalie Hahn is a Structural Analysis Engineer at Spirit for Defense and Space, where she works primarily with metallic structures. Natalie started her career at Spirit in 2020 as a summer intern, learning internal tools and test analysis in Advanced Product Design. After completing her first internship, Natalie returned for a consecutive summer and transitioned to a CO-OP position working on UltraFan and Commercial strategy. 

Natalie has continued her career path with Spirit due to the opportunities its diverse and expanding portfolio provides. She appreciates that if she ever needed a change of pace, new experiences, or to expand her knowledge, she’d have endless opportunities to do so at Spirit. 

Natalie's inspiration to become an aerospace engineer stems from her family's long line of service members, who served in various branches of the U.S. military. Natalie originally considered a career with the military for herself; however, due to medical conditions, she was not able to serve. Natalie said her degree in aerospace engineering has allowed her to serve her country by protecting its citizens and those fighting for us in her own unique way.   

Natalie credits her mentor, Alex Speed, for providing assignments during her CO-OP that required her to conduct research and learn independently while allowing her to experience various opportunities at Spirit.   

Likewise, Natalie credits her mentor group Sarah Niles, Hannah Morris, and Matt Wedel, for not only giving her advice on how to grow as an employee, but to also advocate for others. 

“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” – Mark Twain. 

Gracie Haile, a Research & Technology (R&T) Student Engineer at Spirit AeroSystems, is getting a head start with her career by gaining hands-on experience while attending Wichita State University, where she’s pursuing a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Geology. After completing a summer internship with Spirit in 2021, Gracie transitioned to a CO-OP position. She is now interning for a second summer, working on various projects in R&T and applying knowledge from her college courses to projects at Spirit. 

Gracie first found interest in engineering while studying for a degree in Geology. Gracie fell in love with what she refers to as the "exactness" of engineering. With this newfound interest, she took her first major class, Engineering Graphics, and learned she could combine her technical mind with her creative side. Gracie loves the technicality of mechanical engineering and learning about what makes things work and why.  

Gracie said she loves working at Spirit due to the Company's versatility and endless learning opportunities. In addition to having amazing co-workers, Gracie's also acquired mentors such as Dr. Julie K Gilpin-McMinn, Gary Johnson, Ted Eilert and Matt Guile, who have and continue to help Gracie advance and grow personally and professionally in her career. Lastly, Gracie says she’s fortunate to be part of SWEPT, as it has allowed her to meet likeminded and incredible women engineers who help and support one another throughout their career paths.  

Angela Schroeder has been with Spirit for six years as a Stress Engineer. When Angela first joined the team, she worked on fuselage and nacelle products for the Boeing Company. Today, Angela works on the V-280 program and leads a team of stress engineers in analyzing aircraft structure and ensuring structural integrity.  

Angela has always had an interest in airplanes. When she was younger, she dreamed of becoming an astronaut. Having a father in the Air Force, Angela’s dad would take her family to air shows or the airport to watch planes take off and land. In college, Angela began majoring in Architecture but soon realized she wanted a career involving math and science. With that, Angela decided to take an introductory engineering course that offered insight into different areas of engineering each week. At the end of the semester, she made the decision to major in Mechanical Engineering.  

Angela graduated with a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering and a master's degree in Aerospace Engineering. However, she credits much of her success to her mentors for discussing challenges with her and sharing career advice. Angela also advises others to “bring your true self to work, at least some part. People can’t include you if they don’t know who you are.” 

“There is no glory in being the first, if we are going to be the only one for a long time. Therefore, the goal is to open the door for others and lift as we climb.” -Angela Schroeder 

Megan McManus is an engineer on the Metallics team in Materials and Processes at Spirit AeroSystems Belfast. She began her career with Spirit in 2020 as a graduate engineer, a position for which candidates are first interviewed and placed into a specialty that suits their qualifications. Due to Megan prior experience, including compiling test product plans and work in a laboratory setting, it was decided the Materials and Processes team would be a good fit.  

For her education, Megan earned a First Class Honours degree in Mechanical Engineering from Ulster University, and a Post Graduate Certificate with Distinction in Mechanical Engineering and Management from Queens University Belfast.  

Megan says her vast range of experience comes from her role in Metallics on a team of only five. Currently, Megan is the representative for query forms sent to her department and spends time in the metallics lab in the Company’s shared research center (NIACE), where she focuses on metallic preparation and microscopy. 

In addition to her engineering work at Spirit, Megan is part of the newly formed Diversity, Equity and Inclusion team in Belfast. She has hosted focus groups to help evaluate the effectiveness of STEM events, which the team hopes to host in the near future as a means of attracting a more diverse applicant pool. 

One of my favourite quotes is about believing in yourself: “Those who say they can, and those who say they can’t, are both usually right.” -Henry Ford