Safety and Assurance Engineer, NATS
When Amber Bentley tells people she’s a Safety and Assurance Engineer, she knows the image they probably have in their head – someone with a toolbox fixing machinery. She smiles at that. Her job isn’t about physical tools at all.
‘I’m not an engineer in the sense of building things,’ she explains. ‘My toolbox is my computer, my documents and my data.’ Her role at NATS is to make sure that any new system, change or upgrade going into live air traffic operations is safe, serviceable and ready for use. That includes everything controllers see – and plenty they don’t.
A Job Where No Two Days Look the Same
Amber’s work covers a huge mix of projects.
‘Some are software engineering, some are hardware, some are about changing the airspace so it’s more efficient. We also look at airport projects to help get more planes taking off and landing per hour.’ Sometimes she’s reviewing documents, sometimes she’s testing systems with air traffic controllers, and sometimes she’s out on site or at an airport seeing how a project works in real‑life operations.
Her job also includes supporting STEM outreach. ‘I do a lot of STEM work at NATS, so some days we’re going to STEM shows or working with the Jon Egging Trust on events.’ It’s a varied role that keeps her constantly learning.
Why Safety Matters to Her
Safety has always been a core part of Amber’s personality.
‘I’ve always been that person who needed to look both ways twice before crossing the road,’ she laughs. During her aviation degree, she discovered modules that focused on safety every year. She’d originally wanted to be an air traffic controller but couldn’t pass the medical requirements.
Finding the NATS graduate scheme in safety and assurance felt like everything she cared about coming together. ‘It mixed my love of aviation, air traffic control and safety all into one job.’
The Hard Bits – and How She Manages Them
Amber is open about the fact that she finds lots of reading difficult, which makes long documents challenging.
‘I find ways to work around it,’ she says. ‘Some documents are very long, so I break them up, take breaks and use tools that help me.’ The reading is the part she finds least enjoyable, but she knows how important it is to do it properly.
She also has to stay organised. With several projects running at once, she keeps to‑do lists on her desk and manages her time carefully. This also helps to keep each day varied by having a range of tasks to do.
Skills That Really Matter
Amber believes safety engineers need to be:
- Safety conscious
- Curious
- Good listeners
- Confident asking questions
- Able to follow processes
- Organised and able to split time between projects
‘Listening is important, but so is having the confidence to question things,’ she says. ‘I’m still very new in this role, so I often have to ask: why are we doing that? How does this matter?’
Luckily, she says, everyone has been supportive.
Her Journey – And Why It Should Give Young People Hope
Amber’s path hasn’t been straightforward.
‘I was smart but wasn’t academic. At 13 or 14 I’d been excluded from school multiple times,’ she says. She later completed a BTEC in engineering because she didn’t enjoy exams and wanted to learn more hands-on, then went to university, even though she struggled with parts of it.
What made the difference was persistence. ‘Just keep going,’ she says. ‘Even with all the setbacks in my life and career, I’m now in a really good job with a stable background.’
‘You don’t have to be an academic person. You find certain things slightly harder than others, but you can still get there. Find what you love and you’ll find a way.’