Where do you work, what do you do?
I’m a Systems Engineer for Thales, working on the Four Lines Modernisation project to upgrade the District, Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines.
Please also tell us about your background?
I’m from Australia, am half American and now live in London!
What has been your career journey so far?
I began as an industrial designer developing various products manufactured in China. This was creative, interesting and fast paced work but upon moving to London from Melbourne, Australia I decided to change direction completely and join Thales as an innovation coordinator. I wanted a chance to work on large scale transportation projects that had a big impact on the city I lived in and try to boost creativity in a historically conservative industry. I now work on the system design and integration of wayside radios for a tube upgrade project in London.
What factors did you consider when joining the railway industry?
Railway systems are far more sustainable and people friendly than most alternative modes of transport and this is something I want to be a part of continually improving as the benefits are wide reaching.
What in rail are you passionate about?
Railway connections impact lives in a positive way, improving access to work and providing a safe and more environmentally friendly way to travel.
What motivates you to put forward your greatest effort?
To see my work applied to the railway and the improvements to peoples journeys.
What aspects of the job do you (or your journey to date did you) find the most challenging/rewarding and why?
It has been rewarding to inject innovation and creativity in to the railway industry. The scale of the industry and interdependencies.
What has been your biggest success to date and what contributed to that success?
Being involved in the pilot of an autonomous innovation team in Thales Ground Transportation and implementing several transformative ideas.
Where do you see yourself in 5/10 years’ time, how would you like your career to progress?
Expand my technical knowledge, experience first-hand the full life cycle of my current project.
How do you balance home and work life? What advice would you give to other women?
I make sure I leave when I plan to on a daily basis, so when I know things are a little crazy at work I factor that time into my life too. It removes the awful feeling of running late or letting people down if everyone knows you’ll be arriving a little later.
Oh and once a month my team has a really fun long lunch just to make sure our work life contributes to our social life too! Enjoying work is often the sum of small parts.
Interviewed November 2017
