June 2025 marks the 12th annual celebration of International Women in Engineering Day. This day acknowledges the significant contributions that women engineers make to the profession and aims to encourage more women and young girls to consider a career in engineering.

Engineering is one of the fastest-growing fields. According to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), as of 2023, women constituted approximately 16 percent of the workforce in engineering occupations. The engineering sector includes various distinct career paths such as petroleum, mechanical, electrical, environmental, and many more. Atmos Energy aims to attract engineers who are passionate about learning, tackling projects and continuously expanding their skill sets because a diverse workforce fosters innovation, engagement, and who ultimately contribute to our vision of being the safest provider of natural gas services.

Within Atmos Energy’s eight-state service area, women engineers play crucial roles in designing and managing the natural gas systems to maintain safe and reliable services for more than 3 million customers. They are instrumental in helping to maintain system reliability, operational safety, and innovation, thereby influencing both current and future generations of customers and employees.

“Research shows most women tend to pursue engineering if they had a male engineer in their family,” said Amanda Whitaker, engineering services manager. “I did not have engineers in my family growing up, but I am one of the lucky few who had a very special teacher, Mr. Hyde, who saw my interest in drafting and architecture and talked to me about possibilities in engineering.  Engineering has been a very special blessing to have the opportunity to work in three different industries and foster change, innovation, and collaboration in each one. I encourage everyone who has young females in their life to discuss the amazing opportunities of engineering and science.”

“As a professional electrical engineer, I find working at Atmos Energy personally and professionally fulfilling,” said Senior Engineer Caroline Zarnaghian. “From encouraging volunteer work and prompting AtmoSpirit to providing employees with training and opportunities to excel in their careers, Atmos has been a wonderful place to work.”

“Professionally, there are diverse areas and opportunities in Atmos Energy for all engineers, regardless of their discipline, to apply their skill and knowledge and to learn and grow,” continued Zarnaghian. “By working as an electrical engineer, not only have I learned about instrumentation and control design, but also SCADA, project management, ROW process, marketing, and planning. These are unique learning opportunities rarely found in other companies.”

She concludes, “I also found that Atmos Energy’s commitment to AtmoSpirit culture and Fueling Safe and Thriving Communities is very special. I truly feel the engineering work we deliver has a huge impact on the communities we serve, as safety is always the number one priority in our designs. As such, I find my work here rewarding.”

Zora Raoufpour joined the company as a senior project engineer in 2004 and has advanced to her current position as engineering services director. In this role, she oversees the implementation of organization policies for natural gas transmission engineering, measurement, and CAD design support teams for Atmos Pipeline-Texas. The team’s focus on employee and public safety, as well as service reliability, is important to the company.

Atmos Energy is proud of the critical knowledge and expertise that our women engineers bring to their work. They fulfill essential roles as members of cross-functional teams, contributing their engineering acumen across multiple domains within the company, including efforts in system modernization, infrastructure modernization, and the implementation of innovative technologies aimed at delivering safe, reliable, and affordable natural gas to the 1,400 communities we serve.

The diverse perspectives and unwavering dedication of Atmos Energy’s women engineers significantly contribute to the company’s success in driving forward a sustainable future for all.