Marking International Women in Engineering Day with Our WES Partnership

Engineering shapes the products, technologies and experiences that improve lives. On International Women in Engineering Day, we recognise the contribution of women across the profession and celebrate the impact they make every day.

To mark the occasion, we’re pleased to announce that Crux Product Design has become a partner of the Women’s Engineering Society (WES).

WES has spent more than a century supporting engineers through mentoring, professional development, networking opportunities and advocacy. As the organisation behind International Women in Engineering Day, it continues to play an important role in bringing people together and strengthening the engineering community.

For Crux, this partnership is about creating more opportunities to learn, connect and grow.

Rosie Echeverry, Programme Director:

“Engineering thrives when people have access to strong networks, development opportunities and diverse perspectives. This partnership provides valuable ways for our team to learn, connect and grow through mentoring, networking and leadership development. While supporting women in engineering remains a core focus of WES, many of the benefits available can support colleagues across the business.

I’m particularly excited about the MentorSET programme and the opportunities it will provide. Creating connections with experienced professionals outside your own organisation can have a huge impact on confidence, career development and leadership.”

A Culture That Supports Great Engineering

At Crux, we see every day how the right environment enables people to perform at their best. Creating space for collaboration, constructive challenge and continuous development is fundamental to how we deliver strong engineering outcomes.

This is relected not just in how our teams work, but in the experiences of individuals across the business.

Natasha Fosker, Head of Human Factors, explains:

“I’m proud to see the high calibre of women at Crux every day of the year. Engineering remains a historically male-dominated field, and women continue to navigate complex cultural and structural challenges. The impact they make is a testament to their expertise, resilience, and professionalism.

Within my team, collaboration and mutual respect are fundamental to how we work. Given our focus on human factors, we place strong emphasis on open-mindedness, exploring the best solutions together, and valuing diverse perspectives. Respectful communication, accountability, and constructive challenge are behaviours we actively encourage and expect. They are essential to how we work.

Creating an environment where everyone can contribute effectively is something we work on continuously because it’s fundamental to how we succeed as a team.”

Building and maintaining this culture is a shared responsibility across the business.

Louise, Advanced Project Manager, adds:

“I’ve really valued being part of a team with strong female leadership and a genuinely collaborative culture. In a traditionally male-dominated engineering sector, that environment makes a real difference, and it’s something we consciously work to build and extend to others across the team.”

Millie, Advanced Project Manager, comments:

“I’m proud to be part of a team that actively supports and champions women in engineering, creating an environment where everyone has the opportunity to grow and make an impact.”

Careers That Make a Difference

One of the most rewarding aspects of engineering is the opportunity to create products that have a meaningful, real-world impact. At Crux, this often means designing solutions that improve usability, safety and outcomes for the people who rely on them.

Two of our Human Factors Engineers share what that looks like in practice.

Fern, Human Factors Engineer:

“I really enjoy working directly with clients and end users to help shape products around real needs, bridging the gap between engineering and user experience. Conducting research across both the UK and the US has been particularly rewarding, offering valuable global perspectives on medical devices. I take pride in helping turn functional devices into ones that are intuitive and designed with the people who use them in mind.”

Josie, Human Factors Engineer:

“Meeting the real-life users of the devices we work with is by far the highlight of my job. I get most excited when the outputs from these interviews directly inform usability improvements, helping design for users’ capabilities, expectations, and environments rather than our assumptions. People often share little workarounds or frustrations you’d never spot otherwise, and those insights are gold dust for usability. Knowing that what you learn from these conversations directly shapes design to be safer and more intuitive makes my work truly meaningful.”

Looking Ahead

Our partnership with the Women’s Engineering Society is one step in that journey, helping us create more opportunities for our team while contributing to the wider engineering community.

We look forward to continuing to build on this, supporting the development of our people and contributing to the future of engineering.

You can find out more about the Women’s Engineering Society and the International Women in Engineering Day at wes.org.uk.