Driven by curiosity: an interview with AEGIR-Marine’s Seran Ünal, Research & Development Engineer
For Seran Ünal, engineering has always been about curiosity. As a teenager in Turkey, she gravitated towards maths and physics, drawn to the logic behind how things work. Mechanical engineering felt like the right choice because it offered so many possibilities. “It’s very broad,” she says. “There are so many directions you can go.” A look at Seran’s career path to date demonstrates that perfectly.
After completing her bachelor’s degree in Turkey, she set her sights abroad with the desire to continue studying, but also to experience another country and another way of thinking. “I wanted to live in a different country and broaden my perspective.”
Germany was her next step, where she enrolled in a master’s programme in design and development with a focus on the automotive industry. During her studies, she secured an internship at BMW’s tyres and wheels department. Her master’s thesis followed the same path, focusing on rubber and tyre performance in cooperation with BMW and Pirelli.
That interest in rubber materials led her to the Netherlands, where she joined an engineering doctorate programme at the University of Twente. “My doctoral research focused on a topic that was already very similar to the work I had done during my master’s studies.” she says. “Rubber, wear, testing and sustainability: it was all connected.”
A year ago, Seran took another step forward, this time into the maritime industry, joining AEGIR-Marine as a Research & Development Engineer. “To be honest, I wasn’t really aware of the maritime industry before,” she admits. “ Automotive is full of research, but in the maritime world I discovered a new space – still centred on rubber, and full of opportunity.”
The power of research
At AEGIR-Marine, Seran is part of a five-person R&D team that works on materials, lubrication, testing and validation of sealing systems. The team includes specialists in chemistry, tribology and rubber technology, and works closely with the product development and engineering departments.
Her work involves improving materials and systems, often with sustainability in mind. “Every small component of system can be improved,” she says. “We always aim to develop better materials while continuously improving our testing methods to make them more representative of real operating conditions.”
Stern tube seals operate in a harsh environment: oil, seawater, pressure, rotation and constant movement. Before a product ever goes to a ship, it passes through multiple layers of testing. “We have a really broad range of dynamic tests,” Seran explains. “In our advanced laboratory, dynamic testing is carried out in multiple steps. The final step replicates real-ship operating conditions by running the seals on a shaft-mounted liner and simulating sea conditions, including waves.”
It’s all about communication
R&D at AEGIR-Marine runs around fifteen to twenty projects at any given time. Seran is the lead on five of them, while also supporting others. “I like research; I like learning new things,” she says. “I’m not only working on one topic. Every project is different and needs different skills. So every day is different and this way, I’m never bored.”
She describes her strengths as analytical thinking, problem solving and teamwork. However, since entering the job market, another skill has become increasingly important: communication. “It sounds simple, but clear communication is really important,” she says. “Especially when you’re working with people from different departments. And also taking initiative: getting things going.”
Supporting further development
Besides the technical aspects, Seran values the culture at AEGIR-Marine. She works from home occasionally, but definitely prefers being in the office. “I focus more there, and I really like to work with my team,” she says. “The main reason I chose AEGIR-Marine was how they care about their employees. Also everyone is friendly, helpful. It’s a nice working environment.”
Looking ahead, she is open to growing into roles with more responsibility, but without a fixed endpoint in mind. “I’m happy where I am. I feel like I’m always improving. Whether you are the CEO or have a lower position, everyone listens: every opinion matters. That's really nice.”
Trust yourself: you can do anything
When asked what she would tell her younger self, Seran doesn’t hesitate. During her studies and early career, there were moments of doubt, moments where she wondered if she was “enough,” sometimes influenced by subtle signals rather than explicit words. “If I could talk to my younger self, I would say: just trust yourself, believe in yourself, you’re capable of anything.”
International Women’s Day is a moment for Seran to reflect on both progress and perspective. “It’s a celebration of what has been achieved, for example in terms of gender equality,” she says. “However, there’s still a long way to go. At the same time, it’s important to recognize how far we’ve already come.”
Seran’s engineering career path has been inspired by curiosity and strengthened by experience. On International Women’s Day, it is stories like hers that show how the industry continues to evolve.