Kathryn Walker

"You have to be able to work well with others, but also on your own (everyone will have a different job to do in the team). Designing equipment/processes requires a bit of inventiveness, which uses my Developer and Investigator personalities. A lot of it is about being logical and methodical and following a process (you don't always get to re-invent the wheel!). I think my Investigator fits well for that part of my job. I also think being practical is key and knowing whether your solutions are practical or not! You might design things on paper, but they have to work in the real world too. There are always a lot of things going on so being organised helps!"

"I work on a site that manufactures the active ingredients in a number of antibiotic medicines. I work in the technical department and help to troubleshoot the production processes and make sure we can delivery our products to the right quality safely. This involves problem solving when things go wrong, working out how to improve things and involvement in projects to put in new equipment or processes to fix/improve things. I like that every day is different and working with lots of different people with different roles and ideas. We currently have 6 different manufacturing processes as well as lots of utilities and other services that allow the manufacturing to happen and I enjoy being involved across all these areas. I like that we make something at the end of it all that helps people. There are lots of opportunities for progression for Process Engineers, mostly moving around the business, but you can move to manage more people, manage large projects (new buildings/installing new equipment etc.), move into operations and manage more day to day manufacturing. I am currently planning to move into the safety department."

"My A-level chemistry teacher inspired me to look into Chemical Engineering as a career. It uses applies maths and chemistry while being practical."

"I love to travel and am always planning my next trip! I also enjoy swimming, yoga and hiking."

"The plant operates 24/7, so I always start with the morning meeting to find out what's going on in production. Other than that every day is different. I am currently heavily involved in environmental projects. We are downsizing and restructuring the site and there are some new environmental regulations coming into force so I am designing the waste water systems for these new requirements. A lot of the other projects I'm currently involved in are looking at how to make the plant safer for the people who operate it. I work with lots of different people to make these things happen and make sure we implement the right solutions. I spend my days developing ideas, doing calculations, doing risk assessments (safety and quality), in meetings, going to look at the manufacturing plant and writing documents/reports/presentations etc. to make sure people are aware of what's going on and everything is documented."

"Secondary education (GCSE/O-Levels) Post secondary education (College, A-levels, NVQ3 or equivalent) A level Maths (A), Chemistry (C), Physics (C) Post-graduate degree (MSc, MA, etc.) MEng - Integrated masters (no BEng) MEng Biochemical Engineering (1st) "