SAE – Abbie Croker
Junior Composite Design Engineer at Aston Martin F1 Team
I design and engineer carbon fibre parts for the front and rear wings of the F1 car. This includes the design of the parts themselves, as well as the moulds and jigs that are required to produce them.
I started in engineering via a degree apprenticeship at Aston Martin. This was a 4 year apprenticeship during which I also studied at Warwick University and achieved a Bachelors Degree in Applied Engineering. I stayed at Aston Martin for another year, then decided to move to the F1 team.
What does a typical day at work look like for you?
On a normal day, I’ll be given a surface from aerodynamics. This is a sort of shell of a part which I then build up and add the internal shape to. This develops into a solid part which contains all the necessary fixing points and thicknesses. I will also define the laminate for the part using the information given to me by our structures department (they decide how strong the part needs to be).
What advice would you give to your 15 year old self
Do whatever you want to do, don’t be put off by being the only girl in your class. Its scary, but you’ll get through it and there is no need to be worried. Also, no matter what anyone says, apprenticeships are not a last resort. Apprenticeships are a perfectly valid way to get the job you want and if that’s the way you work then go for it!
Who or what inspired you to get into engineering?
My Gramps, he always loved building things and I often helped out with the smaller projects when I was younger.
What was your route into engineering?
Apprenticeship
What are the best and worst things about the job?
In my current role, I love seeing the parts go from CAD all the way through to the physical parts which run on the car. Seeing real life parts is a great moment and you know all the hard work has paid off. However, speaking of hard work, the winter months are really tough. We often do overtime and late nights are not uncommon. That’s probably the main drawback of working in F1, but its a small price to pay when you know you’ll get the results.
What is your proudest work or career achievement so far??
A big achievement for me was when I worked on the Aston Martin Victor interior. It was a one-off car and we had a very tight timeline to complete it. It was a beautiful car, and when I first saw the pictures of the finished car it was a great moment.
