This week we celebrate Engineers Week, or E-Week, which seeks to share the vision, values, and mission of the engineering profession and increase interest in engineering and technical careers. This week is a recognition of engineers around the world and an opportunity to honor the ingenuity and impact that engineers have at Aurora.
Hear from some of our engineers as they talk about their experience at Aurora, the importance of E-Week, and what this year’s theme, “Design Your Future,” means to them.
Marlena Gomez, Autonomy Engineer
What do you like about your job?
I love that my job challenges me to solve complex problems every day. One day, I might be debugging code for autonomous flight; the next, I’m collaborating on a new design that could shape the future of aviation. There’s always something new to learn, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to work on diverse projects with a team of brilliant engineers. Their expertise and passion make every challenge more exciting and every project more rewarding.
The 2025 theme for Engineers Week is “Design Your Future.” What does that mean to you?
To me, “Design Your Future” means taking an active role in shaping both my career and the world around me. Engineering is driven by innovation, and every decision I make—whether it’s developing new technologies or honing my skills—plays a part in defining the future. It’s a powerful reminder that engineers don’t just adapt to change; we create it.
When away from work, do you put your engineering background to use in a hobby, activity or involving students interested in STEM?
One of my main hobbies outside of work is painting, which surprisingly involves many engineering skills. From stretching canvases to building frames and troubleshooting when brushstrokes don’t go as planned, I find that art and engineering share a creative problem-solving mindset. Over the years, painting has not only been a source of inspiration but has also strengthened my ability to think critically and adapt—skills that are just as valuable in engineering.
Heath Cherneski, Flight Test Pilot
What do you like about working at Aurora?
Working at Aurora, and in flight test in general, provides a constant flow of challenges that require creativity, audacity, and hard work. I enjoy challenges, working in effective groups, and collaborating to achieve a difficult goal. Flying has also been a lifelong passion of mine, and Auroa gives me the opportunity to stay proficient and collect flight test data. I enjoy leveraging 25 years of aviation experience to accomplish challenging aviation missions with the goal of advancing flight.
The 2025 theme for Engineers Week is “Design Your Future.” What does that mean to you?
Technological advances result from groups of people deciding on a vision of what is possible. Engineers take what can be imagined and make it reality. For Aurora, that means taking ideas and concepts and bringing them to life. Design your future means building the path that will take humanity from where we are to where we want to go.
When away from work, do you put your engineering background to use in a hobby, activity or involving students interested in STEM?
Mostly, I believe engineering is way of thinking that allows you to design, build, and repair things, which is a passion of mine. I have built two airplanes, and I love tinkering in my garage on the weekends when our family is not engaged in hockey games or outside activities.
Katie Martins, Software Engineer
The 2025 theme for Engineers Week is “design your future.” What does that mean to you?
Engineers have never had their creations be as accessible or influential as they do today. The historic inventions that are the foundations of modern technology (planes, cars, televisions, phones, etc.) were not widely available to the average person when they were first invented. Now we can release what we create to a wide audience faster than ever before. The impact engineers have on the future is far reaching. While exciting, it also means we have even more responsibility in setting the right precedents and understanding our societal impact.
What advice would you give to young people who are thinking about becoming engineers?
Look for opportunities to grow your skills now! Starting with engineering as a hobby makes learning more enjoyable. I learned programming by making small video games, and still do so now. There are so many accessible building and soldering kits available, and they’re a great creative outlet. Also, explore artistic passions outside of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). STEM and art are often separated, but combining the two is what makes a great engineer. There are a lot of engineers at Aurora who are also musicians. You’ll be amazed at how the two can intersect.
When away from work, do you put your engineering background to use in a hobby, activity or involving students interested in STEM?
I enjoy gardening, but living in an apartment complex makes that difficult. I’m working on making a hydroponics station with grow lights, automatic watering, and a touchscreen for controls. I made an automated greenhouse in college with similar systems, but I couldn’t solder at the time, so it was a mess of wires (endearingly so, but still a mess).
Cody Gray, Mechanical and Propulsion Engineer
What do you like about working at Aurora?
I enjoy the variety of vehicles and systems I get to work on. Aurora gives me the opportunity to continuously learn and gain new experience across many vehicle platforms. I also like being able to work on the entire product lifecycle, from design inception to vehicle integration.
How is Aurora advancing the future of flight?
Aurora is advancing the future of flight by taking on the technological challenges of the aerospace industry. We are able to explore a large breadth of technologies simultaneously across multiple programs.
What advice would you give to young people who are thinking about becoming engineers?
A career in engineering gives you the opportunity to be both technical and creative on a daily basis. Especially in prototype aerospace, the solution to a problem often requires thinking outside the box. The design of a complex part can be both analytical and artistic, which I find very satisfying.
I-Han Liu, Electronic Systems and Power Engineer
What do you like about your job?
I like having the ability to expand my skillset to other technical topics and applications by working on different programs. Since joining Aurora I have gained experiences in conjugate heat transfer CFD, system-wise thermal analysis, high-voltage testing, and proposal preparation efforts.
The 2025 theme for Engineers Week is “Design Your Future.” What does that mean to you?
At Aurora, I’ve been given the opportunity to participate in a variety of programs and technical areas. At Aurora, there are endless possibilities to design our future and help us reach our career goals. I’ve been able to work with different programs, which has allowed me to text my knowledge and polish my skills.
What advice would you give to young people who are thinking about becoming engineers?
Becoming an engineer is both fun and challenging. I would encourage young people to explore first and then focus on the topic that they are most interested in. While you may not immediately get your dream job, everything we learn along our career path is valuable.
Tony Prete, Structures Engineer
What inspired you to want to become an engineer?
In fourth grade, we had an assignment to research a career, and I chose astronaut. I learned that most astronauts were military pilots, and having glasses disqualified me. I decided that the next closest thing was to be an Aerospace Engineer. I’ve also always been interested in understanding how things work, which is a cornerstone of engineering.
What do you like about being an engineer?
Engineering is a discipline where you can problem solve. It’s satisfying to work in an environment where you are challenged to think creatively. In particular, I very much appreciate the artistic parts of being a design engineer. It’s a great feeling of pride when you can design something aesthetically beautiful and functionally effective.
Share an experience working at Aurora which was inspiring to you.
In my almost 10 years at Aurora, I have been on eight different programs with responsibilities ranging from design, analysis, manufacturing engineering, composite layup work, test development, surface lofting, mass properties engineering, program and cost management, and technical leadership. It’s a very rare career path to have such a diverse set of experiences all without leaving a company.
Shannon Meyer, Mechanical and Propulsion Engineer
What do you like about your job?
I really enjoy the teamwork that is inherent to engineering. Well-engineered products require that each discipline is striving towards the same goal and coordinating their strengths appropriately. Like any team effort, this shared accountability has the potential to foster strong communities that extend outside the workplace. We celebrate each other’s wins and support each other through challenges, all the while working toward products that can make a measurable impact on the world.
The 2025 theme for Engineers Week is “Design Your Future.” What does that mean to you?
To me, “Design Your Future” is all about being empowered. There are many challenges in life that we have no control over. We can control how we react to these challenges, regardless of whether they can be addressed directly or otherwise. Engineers are equipped with the tools and problem-solving mindset to drive change. Let’s take ownership of the things we can control and do our part to shape a future that we want to live in.
What advice would you give to young people who are thinking about becoming engineers?
Find something that you are interested in and think about ways that you could improve it. More likely than not, a field of engineering exists that would enable you to do just that. Engineering allows you to pursue your passions in a practical way. To determine whether engineering is right for you, my advice would be to join an extracurricular design group. Regardless of whether the group is aligned with your specific interests, it is good exposure to an engineering environment and could offer resources to pursue your interests further.
