How Elif Cakir combines precision engineering, manufacturing expertise, and aerospace innovation at Carter Manufacturing and UNASIS.
As a Technical Engineer at Carter Manufacturing and UNASIS, Elif Cakir plays a key role in the development of high-precision bearings and aerospace bearing tooling used within flight-critical applications.
Engineering has been a defining passion for Elif from an early age. Fascinated by how electromechanical systems functioned internally, she would often dismantle devices to better understand their structure and operation. This curiosity eventually developed into a professional ambition, leading her to enrol at Gultepe Technical High School in Turkey, where she began developing a strong technical foundation in machinery, material strength, and international technical drawing standards.
Her education continued at Sakarya University, studying Machine Design and Construction in a highly practical, workshop-focused environment. The experience reinforced the importance of design for manufacturing and provided a deeper understanding that engineering is not simply about creating digital models. It is about integrating manufacturing processes, machining methods, tolerances, and assembly considerations into real-world production.
Following several industrial engineering roles in Turkey, she moved to the United Kingdom to further expand her expertise, completing a BSc in Engineering Product Design at London South Bank University before earning an MSc in Engineering Management from Brunel University. This combination of technical design and strategic management enabled her to bridge the gap between engineering innovation and operational efficiency.
Joining Carter Manufacturing in May 2024 provided the opportunity to apply this experience within a high-precision aerospace environment. The role offered exposure to technically demanding aerospace bearing tooling projects, allowing involvement across the full engineering lifecycle, from design and analysis through to prototyping and testing.
She is currently leading the technical development of aerospace bearing tools, with a particular focus on tri-roller swaging tools aligned to BACB aerospace specification standards. These high-precision tools are designed to interface with flight-critical airframe control bearings and require exceptional levels of accuracy, validation, and reliability.
Her responsibilities include full design ownership, covering detailed CAD modelling, GD&T application, engineering calculations, fit and load analysis, and functional performance validation. Alongside ensuring compliance with stringent aerospace standards, the role also involves producing manufacturing drawings and technical documentation while maintaining close alignment with manufacturing capabilities and constraints.
Having manufacturing expertise closely integrated with engineering development creates significant advantages during the design process. Direct collaboration with production teams allows assumptions to be validated quickly, manufacturability challenges to be resolved early, and designs to be optimised using real machining and assembly feedback. This considerably reduces development time while improving overall reliability and efficiency. The close relationship with UNASIS also enables more advanced engineering solutions. Access to specialist manufacturing capabilities allows designs to incorporate tighter tolerances, more complex geometries, and advanced material processing with greater confidence. Rapid prototyping and physical testing further support fast design iteration and continuous performance improvement.
‘Reflecting on women entering the engineering sector, Elif believes practical manufacturing exposure is just as important as academic achievement.’
Understanding shop floor realities, tolerances, materials, and production constraints alongside strong analytical and technical documentation skills creates engineers who can confidently contribute at the highest levels of decision-making.
Looking ahead, she sees British manufacturing becoming increasingly digital, precision-focused, and technologically advanced. Her ambition over the next five years is to remain at the forefront of this evolution, contributing to innovative engineering projects that combine advanced technical analysis with high-end aerospace manufacturing expertise.
Source: Best Bits
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