INWED21 Q&A: Fully charged careers at WAE

Dr. Nasrin Shahed Khah, Senior Battery Systems Engineer,

Melissa He, Battery Systems Engineer

Rachel Lear, Battery Systems Engineer

NS: I’m a Senior Engineer in the Advanced Programmes team. Our team develops WAE’s battery capability, which includes everything from cell selection to testing and optimisation; ensuring we’re meeting the client’s requirements with our battery systems.

MH: I currently work for WAE as a Battery Systems Engineer in the Advanced Battery Concepts group where our role is to expand the limits of battery technology through the development of smarter battery architectures and control systems.

RL: I’ve been at WAE for approximately a month now, working as a Battery Systems Engineer. I spend a lot of my time focusing on different aspects of battery development activities; but primarily with cell testing requirements.

RL: I come from a scientific background and during my degree there was a relatively good ratio of male-to-female students. I had female friends who were engineers, but most were in a minority on their courses which is why engineering is probably still perceived as a very male dominated career choice. Despite the headline statistics, I would say, don’t let that put you off pursuing engineering as a career.  I work in a team where we have a 50/50 split of male-to-female, which is great and regardless of gender, the important thing is the way in which you work together to deliver successful projects. If you have the required skills, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be applying for any job. Personally, I’ve always been welcomed into teams and whilst women might be a minority now, as more of us study engineering, so more women will become engineers!