She’s an Engineer features the lives and stories of our inspiring women engineers who are members of WES
I’m a Lead Technologist, which means I support the strategy and technology management activities across a wide portfolio of autonomous products and weapon systems.
What does a typical day at work look like for you?
I wouldn’t say there is such a thing as a typical day for me as every day is so different. In my role I lead and lean into the digital transformation projects, sustainability tasks and strategy, as well as supporting technology integration (product & manufacturing). I also look at the ‘bigger picture’ activities such as product road mapping and technology strategy.
What advice would you give to your 15 year old self
That being curious is a positive thing – don’t be scared to ask questions or to be seen as too keen. Asking questions is how you learn and develop in order to better yourself for the future.
What are the best and worst things about the job?
The best aspects of my job is being able to network with others and getting involved in exciting new technology projects. It really does feel like every day is a school day as I’m constantly learning something new which is what I enjoy doing! Although my current role doesn’t require me to manage a team, as I have in previous roles, I still try to engage and support our early careers sector where possible as I enjoy helping individuals who are just starting their career journey.
Have you had any career setbacks or challenges, and how did you overcome them?
I would say the most challenging time of my career was when I exited my apprenticeship as a team leader on the shop floor, where I was managing a team of five operators who had 30+ years of experience in engineering and knew the products inside out. I had to navigate the people challenges, all whilst trying to get a good understanding of the product, shop floor processes and ensuring I was delivering was a lot to juggle. However, my main priority was to get my team on board, listen to their problem spaces and see where I could help in order to try and build a relationship with them and gain their trust. Once I got the team on board, I was able to build on the other skills that I needed to develop, including learning from experienced team members around me and putting what I had learnt into practice. This was one of the most challenging, but impactful experiences of my career. I learnt so much and gained numerous valuable skills which I will take with me throughout my career journey.