From Technical Curiosity 
to Aerospace Engineering
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 
Elif Cakir, Technical Engineer
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