Engineers Week — Rana Obeid
Rana Obeid reflects on the challenges and accomplishments she has faced to ensure safety and efficiency of aviation operations in the Gulf of Mexico.
What is your current role at the FAA and what kind of work do you do as an engineer?
I am the Gulf of Mexico Sustainment Project Lead and manage a cadre of professionals in the installation/relocation of FAA equipment on offshore oil and gas platforms in the Gulf, as well as the day-to-day sustainment of existing FAA facilities in the Gulf.
After I joined the FAA and during the pandemic, I experienced my first engineering challenge: finding a solution to lift a heavy steel structure on to an offshore oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico to support the installation of an Automated Weather Observation System. The platform crane could not reach the area. To lease a lift boat with a crane would have cost tens of thousands of dollars, not to mention pushing the project many months behind schedule. We designed, fabricated and used a temporary davit crane to finish the project.
I love the passion and commitment we share to ensure aviation safety and efficiency in the Gulf of Mexico.
What is your proudest achievement professionally?
Convincing Chevron that the FAA can provide significant aviation safety benefits to company aircraft and employees through the installation of FAA surveillance, VHF communication, and a weather reporting system on their Anchor oil production platform during construction. As a result, Chevron agreed to provide engineering services, facilities, and site preparation to install FAA equipment at no cost to the agency — more than $2 million in savings.
What advice would you give to an engineering student today? What about a new engineer at the FAA?
Focusing on advancement and passionate learning is a key to success.
There is a constant need for technical minds. Engineers play an important role in advancing the boundaries of applied science and solving technical problems that can support and enhance the FAA’s mission to provide the safest air traffic system in the world.
