Meet your finalists

Amy Dillon, Civil Engineer and Director of The Think Design Engineer Foundation and The Big Bridge

“I absolutely love what I do, and I really enjoy that I get to be creative, and I get to do things that change the world.”

Amy is a bridge builder - quite literally! As a Civil Engineer managing multi million pound infrastructure projects, she has been integral to many critical infrastructure projects, including the Northern Spire bridge in her home town of Sunderland.

She’s also the brains behind The Big Bridge, the STEM outreach initiative that brings a 13-metre-long buildable bridge to schools and community events across Northern Ireland and Ireland.

It has reached over 2,500 students to date, with a focus on introducing girls from less advantaged backgrounds to engineering via hands-on experiences.

Jennifer Barry, Payload Systems Lead Engineer

“I'm motivated by my background in astrophysics and my love of problem solving, which helps me turn novel and ambitious ideas into reality.”

Jennifer represents the UK internationally on space sustainability. She has led UK delegations to the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), and presented at the UN, and contributed to the ESA’s Zero Debris initiative.

Her work as the Payload Systems Lead at the UK Space Agency involves technical insight, assuring quality standards, leading research and development initiatives, and project management.

She has also found time for over 530 hours of STEM outreach to students, earning her an invitation to the Youth in Aviation and Aerospace parliamentary reception at the House of Lords.

Rachel Hayden, Senior Engineer at WSP

“I feel incredibly proud to be nominated for the Young Women Engineer of the Year award, let alone be named as one of the finalists. I feel really grateful to be recognised for my work, both at WSP, and as a STEM ambassador.”

Rachel was introduced to the idea of becoming an engineer through a school pasta bridge competition – and now manages infrastructure and assets that include not just bridges, but tunnels, culverts, pumping stations, and retaining structures.

In her role as a Senior Chartered Civil Engineer at WSP, she project manages two multi-million pound projects, leading multidisciplinary teams of engineers, planners, commercial managers, and technical specialists, to ensure quality and safety.

As an international STEM ambassador, she founded and led the Building the Future, Shaping our World competition, connecting students from India, Nepal, the UK, and Jersey to design sports venues for their communities.

Rachel Donaghey, Service Introduction Manager at NATS

“I'm driven by my passion for safety, inclusion, and making a meaningful impact.”

Rachel is someone who drives strategic improvements. In the two roles she has held at NATS, she has redesigned workflows that streamlined the safety and assurance process by 50%, developed new guidance, enhanced collaboration, and supported consistency.

She works closely with project teams to ensure operational safety in a 24/7 environment, planning and overseeing new systems, equipment, and software in and out of service.

As someone with dyslexia, she is proud to have proved to herself and others that she is capable of excelling in a space she once felt excluded from.

Nikkala Pokojski, Software Engineer at Kainos

“I'm passionate, ambitious, and curious, driven to build technology that solves your problems and makes a difference.”

Nikkala is still an apprentice, but she has already designed a full system architecture for HM Passport Office.

Her commitment to real-world software solutions has led to rapid progression during her apprenticeship as a software engineer at Kainos.

Her work contributes to the entire software development lifecycle, including writing, testing, deploying, and maintaining code.

With a practical approach, she is taking responsibilities beyond her years, expanding her skillset, and is a debugging and problem-solving mentor to other apprentices and junior developers.