From as far back as woodwork and electronics classes at secondary comprehensive school, I have always been interested in technology. I started my engineering career in earnest at the age of 18, with a Year in Industry placement at an iron foundry in my hometown of Lincoln. I then studied Manufacturing Engineering at the University of Cambridge, graduating with a first class MEng degree in 2009.
For the next seven years, I was the Process Improvement Manager at RPC M&H Plastics in Suffolk (a premium manufacturer of plastic bottles and caps, primarily for the personal care market), becoming a Chartered Engineer in 2014. I was responsible for introducing new technologies (such as infra-red non-contact measurement of bottle wall thickness) and troubleshooting technical issues across the different moulding and printing departments. In 2015, I won the IET Young Woman Engineer of the Year Women’s Engineering Society Prize, in recognition of my work to engage and inspire young people into STEM careers.
Since September 2016, I have been a Manufacturing Engineer at TTP Labtech Ltd. in Hertfordshire. TTP Labtech designs and manufactures robust, reliable and easy-to-use instrumentation for use in drug discovery research. I work in the area of liquid handling technology; providing engineering support for equipment that can transfer as little as 50 nano-litres of liquid at high speed using custom-made disposable nano-pipettes. This role utilises the wide breadth of my knowledge, from electrical and mechanical engineering to materials science and computer programming.
