Alison Williams – Senior Research Analyst
Alison Williams
Working as a Senior Research Analyst in the Analytics department at NATS makes good use of my Mathematics & Management degree and previous work experience. On graduating I spent 6 years working as an Operational Researcher at the Department for Work and Pensions. I then relocated to join NATS as a trainee air traffic controller and enjoyed 4 years building my understanding of the fine details of the day-to- day NATS operation, before transferring to the Analytics department and broadening my perspective to take in the bigger picture.
I work in the Analytics Safety team where I use a vast array of data sources, combined with analytical and statistical techniques to provide the insight and evidence to help NATS understand the safety risks within its operations. The most challenging part of my job is turning such a large amount of data into something meaningful for those with no mathematical background. One of the best things is seeing a change being made to airspace or procedures where the decision of how to proceed is based on the work I’ve done.
Analytics touches on all areas of the business (not just safety) so there are plenty of opportunities to learn new things and new technologies to exploit. If you’re looking for a great place to work on a variety of interesting analysis which makes a difference to the world around us, I’d recommend this for new graduates and experienced analysts alike!
