Renee Wootton

Renee’s career story 

Upgrading aircraft simulators

Space technology such as Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and satellite imagery is critical in an emergency. During the 2020 bushfires, these systems helped Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) pilots deliver their emergency response efficiently.

But before pilots can jump in a real plane and carry out a mission, they need to practice using ground-based training facilities like an aircraft simulator. When an aircraft is upgraded, pilot training must change to incorporate those upgrades too, before they take off for real. “It’s really important to the pilots that the training services are in place in the simulators before the fleet is upgraded and operating,” Renee Wootton says. “This is so the pilots know how to use the real aircraft in flight once the upgrade is applied.”

Renee Wootton is an aerospace engineer and pilot who works on some of these simulators. As a project engineer for CAE, Renee is working on upgrading the simulator for a military aircraft called the C-130J Super Hercules and KC-30A Multi-Tanker.

“It’s a customer-facing role, so I answer a lot of technical queries,” says Renee. “I also work with specialists on each of the systems that we’re upgrading, and make sure they’re on track to deliver to our milestones.”

From the Air Force Cadets to Aerospace Engineering

Renee’s career in aviation began at the age of 15, when she joined the Air Force Cadets. “I had just moved to a new town and was looking to make new friends,” she says. “I went along to their induction session and fell in love with learning about aircraft.”

As a cadet, Renee got to take planes apart and put them back together.

As a cadet, Renee got to take planes apart and put them back together. She enjoyed it so much that she completed a Certificate II in Aeroskills (Mechanical) during her HSC. Then she set her sights on studying aerospace engineering.

A Qantas internship

Renee’s Indigenous background (she is a proud Tharawal woman) allowed her to pursue a paid internship with Qantas throughout her degree. The internship was arranged by CareerTrackers, a non-profit organisation that creates industry pathways for Indigenous students.

So when Renee completed her degree in 2016, she had already been interning at Qantas for four years. In that time, Renee worked on a number of research projects as well as working in an analyst role and in flight operations. She went on to work for the airline until she was stood down during the pandemic in 2020.

Pilot training and astronaut goals

Renee also started her pilot training in 2018, and is now qualified to fly a small plane. She is still working towards the licence that will allow her to fly for an airline. And after that, she has an even bigger goal – to become an astronaut.

“Becoming a pilot was something I wanted to achieve my whole life.”

“To become an astronaut, I need to do a master’s in a scientific field and learn Russian. I’m planning to do that in the next couple of years. In the meantime, I’m waiting for the right opportunity to come along in Australia’s space sector.