6 Aug 2026
Take five with Brylee Muir, Senior Engineer and Team Leader at WSP. Find out what sparked her interest in engineering and why she thinks relationship management is key for getting through tough days and progressing through her career.
WSP Senior Engineer/Team Leader Brylee Muir. Photo: supplied
The chance of working with the same people again – or people knowing someone you’ve worked with – is high, so maintaining relationships and handling yourself in a professional manner is key.
Name: Brylee Muir
Role: Senior Engineer/Team Leader – Construction Management
Organisation: WSP
Location: Napier
Favourite chip flavour: Tostitos mild Mexican salsa
What's your Engineering Envy?
Currently it’s the Te Ahu a Turanga – Manawatū Tararua Highway. I’m originally from Whanganui so used the Manawatū Gorge road often, as well as during my cadetship, travelling from Napier to Palmerston North for block courses – before it was closed due to slips. Seeing the new road being built since 2021 was fascinating to watch and then driving over the finished product last year was very cool. There's been recent articles about it being one year on and not a single pothole being recorded! That's my envy: to be involved in a major project like that, that goes well and is in the media for all the right reasons.
What first sparked your interest in engineering?
I was always really into maths and enjoyed physics at high school. My physics teacher is the one who suggested the engineering field and then all the "What career is for you?" tests kept pointing me in that direction! I really enjoy building things and being hands-on, so working in the construction management field is the perfect place for me.
Being onsite is part of what Brylee loves about engineering. Photo: supplied
What motivates you on a tough day?
I have great working relationships with my managers, clients and contractors so I always find it helpful to talk things out! Some days, I just take a couple of deep breaths and carry on, knowing that it will get better again. In construction, it doesn’t take long to hit another project milestone to lift the spirits!
Where has engineering taken you?
I was never keen on the "university experience". I always just liked getting stuck in with the doing, so when I found out about the cadetship Opus (now WSP) offered, and that I could learn while working, I knew that was the path I wanted to take. I had some awesome job and project opportunities throughout the cadetships as I rotated through various teams. It's really helped me, having that full understanding of how the various disciplines come together to make a project happen.
I’ve been on the Hawke's Bay Branch Committee of Engineering New Zealand since 2023 and stepped into the role of Vice Chair this year. Over the years, there's been lots of contribution and organising of various events to create technical and networking opportunities for our local engineers, so that keeps me busy and has created some opportunities to meet different people I wouldn’t have otherwise.
What's the biggest lesson you've learned so far?
That New Zealand's – and Hawke’s Bay's – engineering industry is small. The chance of working with the same people again, or people knowing someone you’ve worked with, is highly likely, so maintaining relationships and handling yourself in a professional manner is key.
What's a common misconception about engineering that you'd like to correct?
That engineering is a male-dominated field. It’s not exactly a misconception, as it is true, but it doesn’t need to be! There's room for more females in the engineering and contracting industry, and for women to be the ones leading projects and making an impact. There are definitely more females now than when I started, so hopefully it continues to trend in that direction.
If you could master one skill to improve your engineering career, what would it be?
I think I need to get into using and understand how AI can help me. It’s so powerful and ever-evolving. I see the cool things people are doing with it around me and I'm sure it could help with some of the administrative tasks that are relevant to the construction management field! I think AI has its place to help make engineers more efficient day to day.
What do you do to unwind from work?
I love going home to my dog Charlie (and my husband) at the end of every day. He’s always so excited and it helps to wipe away any frustrations of the day/week! Weekends are spent mostly pottering around home, working on projects or doing gardening if we aren’t visiting family or friends.
What's the best advice you've ever received?
I often reflect on Gandhi’s “Be the change you want to see in the world." I see it as a call to personal responsibility, instead of waiting for others to fix problems. Be the first to take steps to show the values, kindness and actions we want to see more of. Hopefully, it creates a ripple effect on those around me.
