Women in Engineering

After getting a master’s degree from Edinburgh University, I started out in a graduate role at Dyson in 2011 and then became an engineer.

Working at Dyson was a bit overwhelming at first. As my first ever job, it was very hands on, but the team was there to support me and I’ve taken on a lot of knowledge. Now, it’s a little less chaotic!

At Dyson I’ve focused on the development and testing of cordless technology – Dyson machines which are flying off the shelves worldwide. I’ve been involved in cord-free for a long time, from the last iteration of V2™, then V6™ through to V10™ vacuums, and more recently Airblade™ hand dryers.

For the Airblade, my involvement was mostly around the acoustic issues. Much of my time is spent in a 2m hemispherical, semi-anechoic acoustic chamber, where I develop lots of oddly shaped prototypes to better understand the way air moves through and affects Dyson machines. I then translate that technical knowledge into machine applications.

As a woman, I’m on an equal footing with my male counterparts at Dyson and like to challenge them on aspects of design they may have overlooked – for example, how easy it is to use. It’s all good fun really. And it means Dyson make even better machines.

In terms of broad skillsets, I’ve developed a lot of mechanical knowledge, but at the same time I’ve learned key communication skills, project handling, and cost and risk management. Day-to-day, we’re always looking for better solutions. The same solution can be presented in different ways, but we need to be better as we’ve got critical things to take care of.