Celebrating International Women in Engineering Day: Meet the Women Behind IG Lintels’ Technical Team
International Women in Engineering Day celebrates the achievements and contributions of women working across the engineering industry, highlighting the important role they play in shaping the future of the sector.
To mark the occasion, we spoke to two members of the IG Lintels technical team, Emma Jones, Technical Manager, and Ellie Watkins, Technical Engineer & Detailer, to learn more about their career journeys, their roles, and what they enjoy most about working in engineering.
A passion for problem-solving and design
Emma began her career 19 years ago in Technical Support, where she quickly developed a passion for helping customers solve technical challenges and finding practical solutions. Since then, she has progressed into leadership roles, moving from Team Leader to her current position as Technical Manager.
“What has kept me motivated throughout my career is the opportunity to combine technical knowledge with customer service, while continuously learning, developing new skills, and supporting others to succeed.”
Emma’s role involves supporting engineering and administration teams, resolving technical challenges, improving processes, and working with teams across the business to deliver excellent customer service.
For Ellie, it was the combination of creativity, design, and problem-solving that inspired her to pursue a career in engineering.
As a Technical Engineer & Detailer, Ellie reviews technical drawings, determines loading requirements, creates lintel schedules, and develops bespoke lintel designs tailored to customer needs.
“I enjoy the variety of projects, as each presents unique challenges and design requirements, offering continuous opportunities to learn and develop.”
The importance of teamwork and continuous learning
Both Emma and Ellie highlight collaboration as a key part of their roles.
Emma is particularly proud of supporting the development of teams throughout her career, helping individuals build their skills, take on new responsibilities, and progress within their roles. More recently, she has enjoyed helping to develop the contractor’s team at IG and strengthening collaboration across IG, IGMSS, and Keyfix.
Ellie’s career highlight so far has been working on a project featuring a wide range of IG’s brick feature lintels. The project involved several design changes and the creation of bespoke lintel profiles to meet specific site requirements.
Although challenging, the experience helped Ellie develop her skills and demonstrated the importance of collaboration between the IG team and architects.
Inspiring the next generation
For both Emma and Ellie, International Women in Engineering Day is an opportunity to celebrate women in the industry and encourage more people to consider a career in engineering.
Emma believes the day helps show that technical careers are open to everyone, while Ellie highlights the importance of visibility:
“Seeing women in engineering helps challenge outdated stereotypes and shows younger generations that this path is for you too.”
Their advice to anyone considering a career in engineering, manufacturing, or construction is simple: stay curious, ask questions, and embrace opportunities to learn.
“Engineering is a career built on learning, and it’s okay not to know everything. Never be afraid to ask questions or for help when you need it,” says Ellie.
While engineering is often associated with technical knowledge, both Emma and Ellie highlight the creativity, communication, and teamwork involved in their roles.
Describing their experience of working in engineering, Emma says it is:
Challenging. Rewarding. Evolving.
While Ellie describes it as:
Collaborative. Innovative. Analytical.
Together, Emma and Ellie showcase the variety of opportunities available within engineering and the valuable contributions women continue to make across the industry.
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