Ayla Cengiz has a B.S. in Geological Engineering from Mersin University in 2008. She also earned an M.S. in Geological Engineering from Ankara University in 2018. She continues her doctoral studies at Hacettepe University Department of Mining Engineering. 

After her graduation, she worked as a geological engineer at Aztek Mining, CVK Güney Kromları, Demir Export and Eklips Engineering, and has been working as an independent consultant since 2023. Ayla Cengiz is co-founder of Gaia Jeolog and with 8 years of experience in geochemistry, database and QA/QC.