Charting a path into engineering – International Women in Engineering Day 2026
We celebrated International Women in Engineering Day on 23rd June by highlighting the paths some of our exceptional female colleagues have taken to pursue studies and careers in engineering. We hope their stories will inspire other girls and women to do the same.
Linda Litwach, Control Systems Engineer
Linda is a Control Systems Engineer and robotics specialist working in our software and electrical engineering teams. She grew up in France and the US and studied a wide range of subjects to the age of 18.
“This system of broad study gave me time to decide what I really wanted to do and the confidence to choose a path that might be considered less conventional for a woman.”
Once in the UK, Linda studied a BTEC Level 3 in engineering before taking up a degree in Robotic Engineering and then an MA in Robotics at the University of Plymouth.
“My job is to design the electrical systems that bring our machines to life. It’s incredibly satisfying to see them perform exactly as we intended.
“I’m able to take advantage of Cygnet Texkimp’s flexible working policy, which means I start my full-time role at 7am each day and still pick up my children from school. As a mum as well as a female engineer, I want to show my daughter and son how rewarding a career in engineering can be, whether you’re a man or a woman.”
Sophie Warburton, Software Engineer
Software Engineer Sophie says she fell into engineering after studying media and photography at college. Determined to find a career that would give her professional growth and financial security, a chance meeting with an electrician who later became her mentor set her on the path to engineering.
She trained as an electrical apprentice and then worked as a Controls & Automation Engineer, completing an HNC in Electrical Engineering before joining Cygnet Texkimp as a Junior Software Engineer in 2023. As part of her professional development, Sophie went on to complete a degree in Controls & Automation, delivered by Siemens in partnership with the University of Salford and sponsored by Cygnet Texkimp while also working full-time.
Sophie’s career as a Software Engineer has evolved rapidly at Cygnet Texkimp. She recently returned from the US where she led the commissioning of a major fibre processing line that she had written the code for from scratch.
“Seeing our machine come to life and produce material using brand new code that I had written was the highlight of my career so far. I loved the entire experience. 16-year-old me would never have believed that 32-year-old me would have a successful career as an engineer.”
Bradie Zimmer-Collins, R&D Specialist
Bradie first came to Cygnet Texkimp as a second-year physics student from the University of Salford. She spent the summer leading a 12-week live R&D project to analyse the energy requirements of our carbon fibre recycling solution and gaining valuable industry experience before taking up a part-time role in our team that continued throughout her final year of study. Bradie graduated in July 2025 and now works as a full-time R&D Specialist at our UK Innovation Centre where her role includes designing and running customer trials of our fibre processing machines.
“I’ve been given an amazing opportunity to apply my university learning in a live industry environment and to work on innovative technologies that have real-world impact.”
