Kay Pirali
Project Engineering Manager at Urenco
Taking innovative engineering solutions from idea to reality
Kay Pirali is a Project Engineering Manager at Urenco, with a background in mechanical engineering. Raised in Trinidad and Tobago, she overcame challenges as one of the few women in engineering to build a successful career in the UK. She is passionate about STEM education and empowering the next generation.
Inspired and influenced by a family history
I grew up on the twin islands of Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean. We lived on the larger island, Trinidad, where my family had migrated from India generations ago. Our ancestors started off working in the sugar and cocoa plantations as indentured labourers. Later, my grandfather worked in oil and gas exploration, and my dad then worked on the island’s oil refinery both as blue collar workers. That’s how I got familiar with that environment and was inspired to become an engineer.
I loved science as a child, I had a curiosity for learning things, and loved maths. But 30 years ago, there were even fewer women in engineering than today. It wasn’t what my parents expected me to choose. When I decided to become a mechanical engineer, my dad said he’d only ever met one other female engineer in his life, on the refinery. “Wouldn’t you be better off or more comfortable doing something else?”, he said. “Are you sure this is for you?”.
Finding independence and international dreams
There were only a handful of women on my university course at the University of the West Indies where students came from all over the Caribbean to study Engineering.
I grew up in a small town and quite a sheltered environment. At university, I was on my own for the first time and independent. It was an eye-opening experience, and made me think about seeing more of the world. A science-based career has given me the opportunity to do it.
After graduating, I worked on a cement plant in preventative maintenance, then worked on a methanol plant in Trinidad doing work in maintenance and condition monitoring. I then had the opportunity to work on the commissioning of what was then the world’s largest methanol pilot plant. That gave me the experience and the exposure to the industry to be able to apply for the highly skilled migrant programme and come to the UK.
That was in 2007 and I’d intended to come for a few years to get some international work experience. But I’m still here! I’ve been at Urenco for three years as a Project Engineering Manager.
Satisfaction in seeing a project through, start to finish
I’m currently on a decommissioning project to dispose of assets in a safe way which is a statutory obligation for each of our facilities. We can’t simply dispose of them via conventional methods due to security reasons, or because of radiation exposure.
It’s a really exciting project to be a part of because we are using cutting edge technology..
I work with a lot of skilled people across different design, research and development, asset management and user teams.
Being a Project Engineering Manager involves taking a concept, and being involved straight through until it’s reality – installed, and up and running at a facility. You form a team, get the ideas together, and take it through from design stage to review and approval, then fabrication and manufacturing stages, testing of the equipment to make sure it’s working safely the way we want it to, then to installation and operation at our plant.
Try something, evaluate it, try something else
It’s about learning as you move along. Science is all about trying something, you get your results, you evaluate your data, then you try something else building on what you learned and the skills you acquire from each of these experiences. Accomplishing something and then moving on to something else and then utilising that knowledge to do the next project in a better way can be quite fulfilling.
I feel proud of being here and the experience I’ve had for these past few years and the number of stakeholders I’ve had to work with across multiple sites, understanding what the needs are from a national level as well as at European level. I’m also proud of the work I am able to do with our behavioural safety teams as well as with our company’s ethnic diversity network.
The challenge of highly regulated environments
Some of the challenges that we face are due to working in a highly regulated environment – the checks to make sure all our designs and plants are safe come with a more lengthy timescale than other industries. That’s something I’ve had to get used to about working in nuclear.
With nuclear, there are a lot of stakeholders that have influence on very specific topics within engineering about the different technical aspects for example radiation protection and criticality as well as your traditional engineering disciplines such as mechanical and electrical. So there are challenges with determining what is the right way to chart the course for the project within the timeline and to also satisfy legislation.
Smashing stereotypes for the next generation
When kids are asked to draw a scientist, a lot of them draw a traditional white man, in a white coat. At my daughter’s school they had a careers discussion and they talked about engineers. She said that an engineer would ‘look something like my mummy’.
I came from a small town in the Caribbean, on a tiny island, and my parents weren’t particularly educated. My mom didn’t finish primary school. Education wasn’t something that was easy to come by. I think about how my dad would work any extra shift he could get, and he would also grow mangoes and coconuts to sell and make extra money. That money helped me go to university.
Keep your passion and curiosity
I believe that ‘where there’s a will, there’s a way’. If you are curious, or you have an affinity to something, stick with it.
I like to put passion into my work and I enjoy working with people who are also passionate about what they do. To enjoy your job, you’ve got to align with it, you’ve got to agree with the principles behind it. It’s important to be proud of your work.
The more people who have come through STEM careers by different methods, get seen the better. I think about myself as a seven-year-old and I would have never imagined that I would be living in in the UK and going to different nuclear plants in Europe. STEM can open these doors for you.
My daughter probably doesn’t understand the challenges that I faced when I was young, or that her grandparents faced, in order for us to be living here and working here. Getting my citizenship was such a proud moment even through it took a lot of time and work to get there.
I don’t often look back, but when I have done I realise there have been challenges in my career, particularly as a woman. In an engineering environment, in a room with many stakeholders, there are a lot of times where I’ll be the only woman. Often I’m leading the meeting, coordinating how we achieve something, what strategies to use, what course of action to take. I’m not the kind of person who would swear or shout, even when things get uncomfortable! As a woman you have to think of different ways to bring your points across, keep your principles intact, and lead.
It’s an evolving thing and it takes time to figure out who you are and what works best for you and what your skills are. Nobody’s the same.
My advice is to stay curious
Do something you like: we spend a lot of time at work so it makes sense to gel with something, to enjoy it, and be passionate about it. Stick with it. Don’t be afraid to say what you are thinking in your head (in a respectful way!).Having a motivating factor will always help – for me that was wanting to work internationally. It really helps to have something that is motivating you and that you work towards.
