Healthy opportunities: engineering jobs in the healthcare sector

Few industries are currently as innovative or exciting as the medical devices sector. So says Dr Penny Wilson, lead specialist in the detection of infectious agents at the Technology Strategy Board.

With more than 20 years’ experience in the industry, Wilson says her work has given her a deep respect for engineers within the sector. But for engineers outside the industry, the medical profession can seem intimidating. ‘I would like to say to those engineers: don’t be afraid of the healthcare community. You’re not expected to be a doctor or a healthcare practitioner,’ said Wilson. ‘Without engineers, we can’t have medical devices and we’re not going to realise our vision of future healthcare.’

The pace of innovation in areas such as material sciences, genetics, diagnostics and biotechnology has escalated in recent years. With an ageing population, the technologies are gaining increasing financial and political support, and the medical devices sector is now a key area of government investment.