It's not all calculations and formulas – design engineering is a creative, fascinating job. Engineers spend their time solving problems – using their brains and their hands.

Kimberly came to the realization that she wanted to become a designer/engineer while studying architecture in Italy for a semester during her junior year of college. She found that design was the perfect bridge between her studies in Physics and her affinity for the arts; it allowed her to merge her creativity with her analytical side.

"At school, I really enjoyed the practicality of STEM subjects - being able to apply what I was learning in the classroom to problem solving in real world situations. It was great to be able to see and experience what I was learning.

What I love about design are the first stages of concept generation, when I sketch out a concept for the first time. It's always exciting for me to watch the idea take form and come to life. This process allows me to explore every option and pushes me to expand my boundaries of creativity to come up with new and innovative ways of solving meaningful problems. I love having this opportunity to improve upon existing solutions in ways that can have a real positive effect.

My greatest and proudest accomplishment as a designer so far has been landing my first design job with Philips Healthcare. And, of course, coming second in the James Dyson Award 2010. It was a great honor and the recognition that followed was a key factor in landing the job.

When I’m not by the drawing board, I enjoy pretty much any outdoor activity, from running, exploring Boston, sailing, hiking and chasing my niece and nephew around in a game of tag."

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Wim got into engineering by chance. He wanted to be an archaeologist - but realized he could use his ability to investigate as an engineer. Solving problems and developing solutions.

"I used to build all sorts of stuff in my dad’s shed, like furniture and racing cars. I never thought you could use these skills in your job and get paid!

By pure chance, I discovered there was a course called Industrial Design Engineering at Delft University. I enjoyed Maths and Physics at school, so went for it. I was lucky to get into the course, as it was very popular.

I started working for a company designing products for people with disabilities. I worked on a walking frame for children with Cerebral Palsy. I will always remember their happy faces when they used the frame for the first time.

I am now a senior design engineer at Dyson. I have been here for 13 years! I manage 12 people working on the motorbuckets in our fans and hand dryers. I love the satisfaction you get from seeing your design develop into something real."

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When Christophe was younger he dreamed of being a pilot – but went on to study submarines! It was his fascination with ‘all things engineered’ that led him to Dyson.

"I have always been passionate about technology and science. I’m amazed at the technological leaps that engineers achieve every day – like finding out how to tunnel below an ocean or fly an aircraft at several times the speed of sound!

At school, I mainly studied maths and physics and then at university went on to more engineering related topics, such as acoustics and fluid dynamics. Before joining Dyson, I worked as a research assistant at Florida Atlantic University. I studied the aeroacoustics of submarines, it was a great experience.

At Dyson, I am constantly looking for problems and identifying ways to solve them. This takes time - in fact, none of the projects I have worked on at Dyson over the past year have even got to market yet.

I love finding out about the technology that Dyson machines are full of. The best bit is working on machines that people use every day - it makes my work feel very worthwhile."

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