IWD 2025: Meet the women behind Dyson's latest products

Ahead of this year’s International Women's Day, we sat down with some of the women across the UK and Singapore at Dyson and the Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology working on Dyson’s latest products, from the Supersonic r hair dryer to the Dyson OnTrac headphones. Read on to learn more about their routes into engineering and what it’s like working on real Dyson projects from day one.

About the Dyson Institute

At Dyson, experience isn’t everything, in fact sometimes it’s the opposite of what’s needed in innovation. We relish and encourage naïve curiosity and what James Dyson likes to call ‘wrong thinking’. The young people at the Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology are crucial to this – they study both in classrooms and in labs where they apply theory they’ve newly mastered on real Dyson projects, working alongside Dyson’s global community of engineers and scientists.

One third of Dyson’s Undergraduate Engineers identify as female, compared to a sector average of 18% for engineering courses in the UK¹. They have a unique, positive impact on how we innovate and solve the problems others seem to ignore.

Meet the engineers

Sophie Harold

Acoustics and Vibration Engineer and Dyson Institute 2021 Graduate

Sophie Harold, a graduate of the first cohort of the Dyson Institute, focuses on making Dyson products quieter and improving sound quality, having contributed to projects like the Airblade 9kJ hand dryer and Dyson Zone headphones. Her passion for engineering, sparked by a STEM outreach day at school and a love for maths, science, and music, drives her enjoyment of the practical and creative aspects of the role. Outside of work, she runs a Brownies unit in Girlguiding, engages in musical activities, and hopes to mentor future engineers.

“Your perspective is so important in engineering. Without a diverse field of engineers, people will make oversights and possibly ignore some of the biggest problems that we can solve.”
Katherine Magowan

Category Development Engineer and Dyson Institute 2022 Graduate

Katherine Magowan, a 2022 Dyson Institute graduate, is a Category Development Engineer in Dyson’s Beauty category. She has worked on the Supersonic r hair dryer and hair clips in Singapore and now leads cosmetic formulations projects. Highlights include supporting the Supersonic r’s launch and interviewing stylists using the tool for the first time at Paris Fashion Week in early 2024. Katherine is enthusiastic about encouraging young girls into engineering, emphasising its diverse career paths. She combines her love for art and maths in her role.

“There’s so much more to engineering than it seems, and it opens avenues into all sorts of areas you might not have considered. My job now involves a lot of market research, finance, and business strategy – not what I thought ‘engineering’ entailed!”
Oyemen Okes

Dyson Industrial Designer and Dyson Institute 2022 Graduate

Oyemen Okes is an Industrial Designer in Dyson’s Design and Product Experience team. She focuses on integrating sustainability with research and early concept projects. She has developed acoustic specifications for Airwrap attachments in her first year. and is working on sound design for future Dyson products too, utilising her music production experience. Her favourite project was a material reduction study for Dyson's vacuum cleaners. Oyemen's interest in engineering began with product design at school. She honed her public speaking skills through theatre clubs and founded the “Umbrella Society” at the Dyson Institute. She is also a DJ.

“I don’t think it’s necessarily a surprise but sometimes I get a friendly reminder that as an engineer you can never sit still. Projects and products are ever evolving due to a multitude of influences and factors and it’s on you, as an engineer, to recognise this and become flexible to these changes.”
Tanzy Kelley

Dyson Institute Undergraduate Engineer in Year 4

Tanzy is a fourth-year Undergraduate Engineer at the Dyson Institute, specialising in software engineering and currently working in the reliability engineering team. She has rotated through categories like Environmental Care and Wearables and contributed to the software in the Dyson Airstrait straightener. Inspired by her love for STEM subjects at school and on work experience, she chose engineering despite limited school support for degree-apprenticeships. She was drawn to Dyson's unique work-study model. Tanzy also leads the Undergraduate Experience Committee (the Students’ Union) at the Institute and organises academic conferences for her peers. Outside of work, she enjoys paddleboarding and baking with friends.

“I really enjoy the range of work you can do under the ‘engineering’ job title. I have been an embedded software engineer, a design engineer and currently I’m a systems engineer. Each role has been very different but always fun to get stuck into.”

Ely Jackson

Dyson Institute Undergraduate Engineer in Year 4

Ely is a fourth year Undergraduate Engineer at the Dyson Institute, specialising in the electromechanical stream. She works in the sensors research team in Dyson’s secretive research building on its Malmesbury Campus, looking into machine learning techniques. Ely contributed to the Dyson WashG1, conducting material testing for the rollers using a scanning electron microscope. Passionate about problem-solving and creativity, she discovered engineering through her love for Design & Technology and Maths at school. Ely is part of the Dyson Institute’s Social Team and involved in the Volleyball Club and Surfing Society.

“My old Maths teacher told us to “do something that has never been done before, or do it in a way that has never been done before”, and this has really stuck with me, especially as an engineer where a big part of the job is coming up with new ways of doing things.”

Sin Ting Mak

Graduate Design Engineer

Mak Sin Ting is a Graduate Design Engineer in the Dyson Audio team, having joined through Dyson’s Graduate Programme. She has contributed to projects like the Dyson OnTrac headphones, where she solved design challenges and improved functionality during testing, and the In-flight Adapter Kit, ensuring seamless usability when flying. Outside of work, she enjoys crocheting, pilates, and spending time with loved ones. She envisions designing products that ease everyday challenges and make a meaningful impact on people’s lives.

“To me, it is the thought of being able to create something that could be world changing, indispensable or ease the ways of working in the future. This really drives me to solve the issues and problems that we face today, giving me the momentum and curiosity to dive deeper into engineering.”
Low Chen Nyeow

Associate Design Manager, RDD Haircare

Low Chen joined Dyson in August 2018 as a Graduate Design Engineer in the personal care team. Over the past seven years, Low Chen has specialised in the design and development of innovative haircare technologies. As a member of the design engineering team, Low Chen has contributed to various projects such as the Dyson Corrale and Dyson Airstrait, focusing on aspects including UI/UX, accessories, ingress protection, style performance, and comfort. Most recently, as the Design Manager for the Dyson Airwrap i.d., Low Chen led multi-disciplinary teams to successfully deliver the product from early concept through to production, ensuring adherence to specifications, budget, and quality standards.

"I truly enjoy bringing new, innovative technologies to life, solving problems others ignore, and improving users' lives. I love the process of designing, testing, and refining solutions, and the constant challenge of improving systems and technologies. It is incredibly rewarding to see how new designs and technologies benefit the people around me, and myself."
Vijeta Ramachandran

Design Manager, RDD Haircare

Vijeta Ramachandran, Design and Development Manager in Beauty, has a background spanning approximately six years at Dyson, where she has held positions in Design Engineering, Quality, and now Category. Her role entails leading a cross-functional team on the Dyson Airstrait project, ensuring product delivery to various markets in terms of cost, quality, time, and specifications. She plays a pivotal role in balancing the deliverables of various engineering functions with business needs.
"Having more women in the engineering space will allow for a diverse set of inputs based on lived experience and in understanding what is the best for the users. STEM is a growing field with endless applications on the horizon and it presents a wonderful opportunity to be a part of change makers for tomorrow."

Beyond the Dyson Institute, Dyson is also encouraging young people to pursue a career in engineering through its charity, the James Dyson Foundation. The Foundation's international student design competition, the James Dyson Award, heroes the brilliant female engineers who come forward with their ground-breaking inventions every year.

The James Dyson Award is open for entries from design and engineering students and recent graduates from 12 March to 16 July 2025. Find out more here.

Press contacts

Dyson Press Office

Email: Press.Office@dyson.com
Dyson Institute

Website: https://www.dysoninstitute.ac.uk/

Instagram: @dysoninstitute

LinkedIn: The Dyson Institute

Footnotes

¹ https://www.engineeringuk.com/media/wdxbzmb1/facts-and-stats-engineeringuk-apr-24.pdf

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