Zayne Thawer (EngSci 2T0+ PEY) never imagined the career path his Professional Experience Year Co-op Program (PEY Co-op) at Safran Landing Systems would open up.
“My internship was incredibly enlightening. It introduced me to the world of industry beyond academia,” he says.
“As a systems engineering and architecture intern, I worked with a team of engineers in Canada and France on the development and implementation of a Model-based Systems Engineering (MBSE) framework using the Systems Modeling Language (SysML). This modeling was derived from the NASA Systems Engineering Handbook and was done for the landing gear architecture and operation of a supersonic jet program.”
Today he is driven by a passion for creating a positive impact on society. As a spacecraft systems engineer at Planet Labs — a satellite imagery and earth data analytics company based in San Francisco — he is dedicated to advancing space sustainability. His work ensures that space remains a viable resource for future generations.
“One area of innovation that I’ve been able to work on is the art of maneuver automation. As space becomes an increasingly dense environment with lots of satellites, debris and objects of all kinds, we are making sure that we are operating in a safe and sustainable manner,” he says.
“Prior to my time at Safran, I did not understand what the field of systems engineering was, and now I work as a space systems engineer on a constellation of Earth-orbiting satellites.”
The PEY Co-op program, offered through the Engineering Career Centre, is a work-integrated learning initiative designed to help U of T Engineering undergraduate students gain paid, meaningful work experience aligned with their individual career goals. With up to 20 months of work experience, PEY Co-op students can engage in long-term projects from inception to completion; while earning a competitive salary and developing a robust professional network and valuable skills they can apply throughout their careers.
Thawer’s PEY Co-op experience gave him the opportunity to work on different projects that enabled him to gain new capabilities. During his time at Safran Landing Systems, Thawer tracked change management for the Bombardier Global 7500 aircraft program, through which he learned how to write and manage requirements, as well as capture validation and verification activities of a broad range of subsystems and components.
Two key skills he honed during his time at Safran Landing Systems were context switching and being a high-level systems thinker.
“The first project I did at Safran Landing Systems had a profound impact on my career trajectory, as it was the first time I was faced with an ambiguous, high-level problem that needed to be broken down into manageable pieces using critical thinking and intuition,” says Thawer.
“This systems-thinking approach to a challenge that did not have one correct answer was extremely rewarding to work on, since it forced me to think creatively about a deeply interconnected system and untangle the complexity,” he says.
“In my current role at Planet, working on the Mission Operations team, there’s always a million things going on at the same time and being able to jump from one project to the next is a skill that I started working on when I was at my PEY Co-op at Safran Landing Systems. It also was a big part of the Engineering Science curriculum.”
As an advocate for space sustainability, Thawer feels fortunate to contribute to systems that account for satellite manoeuvres and fleet management to reduce the risk of collisions in space.
“We have developed systems that proactively identify and mitigate collisions that may be imminent in the coming days,” he says. “I think space sustainability is going to become an increasing concern as we see the rise of the commercial space industry. It’s important that we all consider the impact that our actions are having on the future of the space environment.”
For students embarking on their PEY Co-op journey, Thawer’s advice is to step out of their comfort zones and embrace new opportunities.
“Without the PEY Co-op program’s on-the-job training to develop my skills in analyzing nebulous, multi-disciplinary engineering problems, I would not be on the path I currently tread. But every opportunity I could get to work with another team or project broadened my horizons,” he says.
Looking ahead, Thawer is eager to deepen his expertise in the space industry.
“I think there’s still so much more for me to learn about spacecraft design and operations. I’m looking forward to taking on new technical challenges and becoming a well-rounded engineer at Planet,” he says.
