Alumni Spotlight: Champion varsity rower now developing electric powertrains for aviation

July 9, 2025

This article is from UBC Applied Science Student and Alumni Spotlights.

“I realized I was more interested in applied science rather than just science on its own, particularly when I looked ahead to the many job options that are open to someone with a degree in applied science.”

Emma Starr

  • Degree: Bachelor of Applied Science
  • Grad year: 2021
  • Program: Mechanical Engineering
  • Campus: Vancouver
  • Job: Lead Test Integration Engineer, magniX

What got you interested in engineering?

I started out at UBC in the Faculty of Science with the intent to focus on environmental science. However, my enjoyment of first-year physics led me to consider engineering as an option. I realized I was more interested in applied science rather than just science on its own, particularly when I looked ahead to the many job options that are open to someone with a degree in applied science. 

How did you choose Mechanical Engineering?

I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my degree, so I chose Mechanical Engineering as it seemed to offer the greatest number of choices and the potential to keep as many doors open as possible.

Any highlights from your time at UBC?

MECH 2 is a series of five courses that all Mechanical Engineering students take in the second year of their program. It was great for gaining tangible technical, project management and practical skills in things like coding and CAD. The other project-based courses also stand out. 

MECH 2

Did you do co-op?

I didn’t do co-op but I did several internship and engineering-related jobs over the course of my degree. Two were related to mechanical engineering and one was a data analyst position. These jobs gave me good exposure to the kind of engineering work I was interested in.

You were very involved on the UBC Varsity rowing team. Tell us about it!

Being part of UBC’s Varsity Rowing team meant for an unconventional undergrad experience compared to other engineering students. For example, it was very hard to be part of evening study groups because I had to get up so early. I would wake up at 4:30 am to go to the boathouse to do a row, then head back to campus for a day’s worth of classes and then complete a second workout at the gym or on the rowing machine followed by assignments and studying.

It was gruelling work and required many sacrifices. However, I feel I am a better person for having been on the team while doing a challenging program. 

We created an environment centred on discipline and perseverance both on and off the water, and I’m proud that we came home from the Canadian University Rowing Championships with the banner in both 2018 and 2019 where I raced and won both the lightweight four and double. 

I also competed for the US at the 2019 World Rowing U23 Championships, winning bronze in the women’s lightweight quadruple sculls. Looking back at the progress I made over five years—from entering UBC never having touched an oar to being a part of multiple winning teams—I’m thankful that I never gave up.

Tell us about your life after graduating.

Within three months of graduating in 2021 I moved to Seattle to work at magniX, a startup that develops electric engines and batteries for airplanes and helicopters. I am working on the electric powertrains for two different aircraft applications.

I started out as a test engineer, doing full system integration testing. I then shifted into system engineering and am now back in test working as the lead test integration engineer. The majority of my last four years has been spent operating either a high power dynamometer to test the performance and functionality of our electric engine or what we call in aviation an “iron bird,” which is where the engine is mounted to a stationary propeller test rig in place of the aircraft.

The job also involves a lot of documentation writing about the scope of the test, the procedures, the specific set points we are interested in, and then afterwards pulling the data together, making conclusions about what we’ve seen and reporting back.

I’ve been fortunate to be a part of a wide variety of tests in this role, anywhere from individual component or battery cell tests all the way to ground and flight test campaigns, even getting to ride in the aircraft.

It’s a small company so there is a lot of cross-team interaction between design engineers, quality engineers, and manufacturing engineers.

What do you like best about your job?

I like that this job is different almost every day. Some days are focused on documentation, while others focus on high-level program plans for specific product applications. In general, I tend to gravitate to higher-level systems work and I like seeing how the different systems interact and trying to optimize the integration. 

It’s fun to be in that strategic thinking role, while still also having boots on the ground and actually running an engine test on the “dyno” and figuring out the root cause of any issues that arise.

Working in a small company also means I have exposure to lots of different realms rather than doing the same thing over and over again. Finally, I feel very lucky to be working at the cutting edge of this industry with some truly incredible people.

How long until planes and helicopters will be running on electric engines?

We are developing a full electric powertrain solution that includes both an electric engine and inverter package, as well as our Samson300 battery as the “energy storage system.” We have multiple variants of our electric engine that are intended for different platform; both 350kW and 650kW versions are designed for fixed-wing aircraft and our HeliStorm version is designed for helicopters.

We have already flown six different demonstrators, the first of which was the De Havilland eBeaver with Harbour Air flying over the Fraser River, and it felt very close to home given that I have spent thousands of hours rowing on that river!

It’s a long road to FAA certification, and rightly so, but I’m proud to be a part of the company leading the race and I’m hopeful that the entry into service for both the electric propulsion and energy storage solutions are not far away.

Anything else you want to share?

One thing I’ve found is that while technical skills are important, so too are organizational skills and team management skills.

It’s very valuable to develop those core skills early in your career, particularly when you are still developing your technical expertise, because sometimes they are what set you apart as an engineer.  

Find me on: LinkedIn

 

MECH Undergraduate Studies UBC Varsity Rowing