23 June 2026 Women driving innovation at Network Rail
To recognise International Women in Engineering Day, we’re celebrating the impact of our programmes within the transport industry, and the volunteers taking the time to inspire young people. We’re shining the spotlight on two Network Rail engineers: Sarah Kimber and Nina Tamarra. This year’s theme is Engineering Intelligence, which focuses on the creativity, insight and leadership that women bring to engineering – things that both our fantastic volunteers have in abundance.
Sarah works as a Senior Asset Engineer, delivering vital information systems across managed London stations. An early interest in taking things apart and fixing them evolved into a career in engineering. She began her career in the British Army before moving into a telecommunications apprenticeship at BT Openreach – eventually progressing into her current role at Network Rail.
Nina is an Asset Engineer working within Network Welfare Structures, helping to ensure that railway assets are well protected, fit for purpose and safe. A strong interest in maths and working collaboratively led Nina towards Civil Engineering, and following university placements with engineering consultancies, she joined Network Rail’s Structures team.
Engineering can take many forms, and for Sarah, transitioning from hands-on work outdoors to a role balancing fieldwork and office-based tasks was a turning point, improving her work-life balance. Her days are now varied, combining project delivery, fault management and upgrades, drawing on skills including problem solving, communication and attention to detail.
Nina’s role also centres on problem solving, which she finds incredibly satisfying. She spends time reviewing reports, resolving issues and mentoring junior colleagues. Working closely with her team, she develops practical solutions and enjoys taking on complex challenges:
You know how the structure is meant to be behaving... I use my engineering judgement all the time.
For Nina, early support from a strong female manager helped her build confidence and expand her skillset, showing the impact of positive role models. Having a supportive line manager who advocated for her and encouraged her to develop professionally inspires Nina to this day – not only in the office but also in balancing her work with her home life.
Female representation is also important to Sarah, who believes that diversity leads to better decisions and helps ensure the industry reflects the people it serves. Nina agrees, noting that female colleagues are more supportive of her experience as a woman in the industry, and that seeing women in senior roles when she was in junior positions gave her the boost she needed to progress:
It gives you confidence – if they can do it, I can do it.
Both Sarah and Nina underline the fact that engineering doesn’t just offer a one-size-fits-all career and has many different avenues to pursue – many of which aren’t widely known. Sarah encourages young people, especially women, to stay curious, build digital and research skills and explore routes such as apprenticeships and graduate schemes. Insight days and work experience can also be a great option for young people to get inspired:
Give it a go – you never know where it might lead to.
Nina highlights the combination of technical and soft skills the career offers, describing her role as rewarding. She never gets bored, constantly facing new challenges and tasks, showing that the industry offers both a warm welcome and strong job satisfaction:
At the end of the day it doesn’t really matter where you’re from – as long as you can problem solve and approach it in a way that’s going to get us to the final product.
For Nina and Sarah, engineering is a career built on adaptability, continuous learning and teamwork. They both take pride in seeing projects through from the initial stages to completion and would recommend working in engineering to anyone interested. Their advice to young women considering engineering? Just go for it.
At The Talent Foundry, we provide free employability and careers education workshops and programmes that help bridge the gap between education and the world of work for young people living in under-served areas. Too often, these young people face barriers accessing the skills and opportunities required to make informed, confident decisions about their futures. We work across a range of industries, bringing the world of work to life both in schools and offices nationwide.