Kay Taylor is director of quality at Cummins’ Rocky Mount Engine Plant in North Carolina, a large manufacturer of diesel engines in the Cummins network. Her workstreams include customer, supplier, assembly, and machining quality, as well as the quality of new product introduction. She manages a 35-member manufacturing team and is part of a plant leadership team of approximately 1,700 employees.

Taylor completed a B.S. in mechanical engineering at Loughborough University in Leicestershire, in the United Kingdom. She earned a diploma in industrial studies during her gap year in industry, working as a process engineer for an automotive firm. She joined the design, development, and test group at Cummins, initially in reliability engineering and later in experimental mechanics. While in this role, she completed an M.Sc. in the design of rotating machinery at the University of Cranfield. While studying and working as an engineer, Taylor became a proud mother of two sons. The challenge of raising young children while maintaining a career sparked her interest in supporting women engineers.

Taylor’s enthusiasm for hands-on engineering led her to a sister manufacturing plant in the United States, where she took on leadership responsibilities. As her positions and reach expanded, she began engaging in numerous mentoring initiatives, including one-on-one sessions, speed mentoring, and mentoring circles. She also served for years on Cummins’ technical mentoring council, which offers mentoring opportunities to new hires and managers as well as access to panel discussions and small training sessions. 

Taylor transferred this mentorship model to her current organization and sponsored the formation of a local resource group for recent employees and college hires called R.E.A.C.H. This group was designed to help new employees seamlessly integrate into the plant. Under her guidance and encouragement, R.E.A.C.H. has grown to nearly 70 members and hosts professional development sessions, book clubs, and networking events. She has empowered other women engineers to take leadership roles within the program.

In addition to local mentoring, Taylor has participated in the Society of Women Engineers mentoring program and scholarship screening process and has coordinated the involvement of Cummins’ women engineers and leaders at two WE Local conferences. She has been an active member of the Cummins Women in Technology group and Leading Inclusion for Technical team, where she led two projects: Self-Development Matrix for Women Engineers and Understanding Technical Female Attrition in the 5- to 15-year career group. Challenging herself further, Taylor recently transitioned to the manufacturing and quality division and is working to bring similar initiatives to her new organization.

Taylor volunteers at a local animal shelter, helping dogs find new homes. She also enjoys reading, attending concerts, and spending time with family.