Mount Maunganui-based aerospace engineer Keshika Warnakula has been named a 2025 Aerospace & Defence Rising Star by SAE Media Group, with the announcement published in Aerospace & Defence Technology magazine in the United States. The award recognises outstanding emerging talent shaping the future of the global aerospace industry.
As a senior flight mechanics design engineer at SYOS Aerospace, Warnakula has been instrumental in the company’s rapid growth from a small Bay of Plenty start-up into an international manufacturer of advanced uncrewed systems. She joined as employee number five; today SYOS employs around 100 engineers across New Zealand and the UK.
Her work centres on developing aircraft with high endurance and efficiency, ensuring SYOS’s unmanned helicopters and drones can travel longer distances without refuelling or recharging. She specialises in complex flight calculations, including computational fluid dynamics (CFD), lift profiles and non-linear equations – skills critical to fine-tuning the performance of autonomous flight systems.
Beyond her technical role, Warnakula is known for her collaborative leadership style. She mentors younger engineers, guiding them through intricate modelling and analysis work while fostering an environment where mistakes are viewed as learning opportunities. Colleagues describe her as meticulous, encouraging and generous with her expertise – key traits as SYOS transitions from start-up to scale-up and refines its engineering systems for large-scale production.
Warnakula’s influence extends well beyond the hangar. She volunteers with the Wonder Project, a STEM education programme that introduces schoolchildren to the principles of rocket dynamics and flight. Her passion for outreach led SYOS to formalise a company-wide volunteer initiative that allows staff to count the first six hours of community work each month as part of their paid week, helping to embed social responsibility into the firm’s culture.
A strong advocate for women in engineering, Warnakula actively supports female colleagues and promotes inclusivity within SYOS’s growing team.
“Engineering thrives on diverse thinking,” she says. “When everyone feels welcome to contribute, the ideas get stronger.”
Founded just four years ago, SYOS Aerospace develops autonomous uncrewed vehicles across air, land, sea and underwater domains. The company recently opened a major production facility in Fareham, UK, capable of producing 40 uncrewed surface vessels per month, and in 2025 was named PwC Hi-Tech Company of the Year.
Warnakula’s global recognition highlights both her personal excellence and the strength of New Zealand’s growing aerospace sector.