A spotlight on: Jiah Mien talks about her career

Jiah Mien is a Principal Engineer in our Highways team. With over 18 years of experience, she brings a wealth of knowledge in delivering carriageway improvements, project management and active travel schemes.

Jiah Mein has grown exponentially since joining Project Centre and actively seeks out opportunities that push her. She also encourages our junior members of staff to develop professionally and take on qualifications. This year, Jiah Mien was shortlisted for the Best Woman in Highways at the Women in Construction and Engineering Awards.

We recently caught up with her to celebrate the news and to hear a bit more about her career journey.

Can you tell us a bit more about your career? How did you start and the projects you’re currently working on?

My dad nudged me into Civil Engineering as he is a Civil Engineer himself. My first engineering job was a Graduate Traffic Engineer position, where I learnt about accident investigation and road safety.  I then moved to highways and airports and gained experience through a wide variety of multi-disciplinary projects from detailed design to construction onsite.

I had one of the most incredible experiences of my life, living in a caravan on the site compound for 14 months when I was on secondment as a site engineer for the M25 widening scheme. Unfortunately, my early career in highways came to a halt when the global financial crisis hit and I was made redundant at the end of 2010.

It must have been a hard time, going through a redundancy in the midst of a financial crisis. How did you get through that period?

I took the redundancy as an opportunity to venture out and try something different. I started doing some freelance work renovating residential properties, worked as an interpreter, and worked in sales and marketing for a friend’s small business. It went on for a few years until I started missing the engineering environment.

So, I began working my way back in to it. Firstly, I found a contract job as a Project Engineer for the City of London and then I got a permanent role as a Senior Engineer on the London Highway Alliance Contracts (LoHAC) Framework. There, I worked on multiple active travel and healthy streets schemes for TfL. During the first COVID-19 lockdown, I was project managing the critical upgrade of the fire alarm system for Victoria Coach Station. It was very challenging as the working conditions were unprecedented and not everyone onsite was happy to abide by the social distancing rules and adapt to the new ways of working.

A year later, I joined Project Centre as a Principal Engineer in the Highways team. I have been involved in a variety of projects, from school streets and segregated cycle lanes to market regeneration and high street improvement schemes. I am currently developing the concept design for a batch of green mobility hubs for a local authority client. It’s exciting to see what we can do to our existing infrastructure to encourage sustainable travel and create safe and accessible spaces for all users.

It sounds like lots of your projects in your career involved making our streets safer, healthier and more accessible for all. It’s a great contribution, but is there something in particular that motivates you towards it?

I was born and brought up in Malaysia, which is a different reality compared to London. I remember playing with other kids and cycling around my neighbourhood, that freedom and feeling of safety is something that I’ve always missed since moving to London. Also, I have been back and forth from the Netherlands to visit my goddaughters, which makes me realise that making a city safe for pedestrians and cyclists is not impossible. Of course, London is busier and bigger and not everywhere can be reached by cycling or walking. However, some people don’t even have the confidence to cycle around their local areas because of traffic and safety concerns.

I would like to think that when I work on improving the existing infrastructure, creating a safe environment which promotes active travel, I have the chance to positively impact peoples’ lifestyles. After all, you can’t expect people to take up walking and cycling if you don’t build or improve the active travel infrastructure first.

It is totally understandable and it’s great hearing about how passionate you are. Since joining Project Centre, you’ve also been managing and motivating junior members of staff, right?

Yes, at Project Centre I’ve had the chance to line-manage several graduates. I enjoy mentoring and sharing my experience, and often encourage them to be proactive in their learning and take on qualifications. It is something that I am planning to work on as well.

Besides giving them technical support at work, I care about their mental wellbeing too. I try to accommodate flexible working and be there when they need any emotional support. It’s great to see how they have developed from their first day till now. It makes me proud to think that I might have had a part in their development.

You are shortlisted for the Best Woman in Highway from the WICE Awards. That is a fantastic achievement, how do you feel about it?

To be honest, I never thought I would be nominated let alone shortlisted for the awards. I tend to underestimate the work I do. Being recognised as a finalist for the Best Woman in Highways, I know I am on the right path.

When I was responding to the questionnaire and preparing my presentation, I spent time reflecting on my career journey and recalled some of the key moments. I have had challenges and setbacks in my career, but I made it through that. This is my biggest advantage; I can lead by example and encourage those who are facing difficulties to persevere and bounce back. Honestly, I am not sure if I should win but the nomination and shortlist are a great achievement for me.

Thank you so much Jiah Mien for taking the time to talk through your experiences. We wish you the best of luck at the WICE Awards, as you’re so deserving of this Award.

If you’re interested in hearing more about our people’s stories and opportunities, check out our career page here.