SINGAPORE - Ms Sharon Ang recalls taking apart electronic toys with a screwdriver to try and improve them when she was still in primary school.

"There was this toy with a ladder and small figurines that could go up the ladder.

"I wanted to see how it worked and whether I could move water up similarly," she said with a laugh, adding that she had not learnt about electricity in school then.

Ms Ang, 33, has come a long way since, with 11 years in the defence technology sector under her belt, most of which have been spent with the Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA).

She has worked on many projects, including unmanned vehicles, robots and software that has helped Singapore combat Covid-19.

The multi-agency team that developed the software was awarded the Defence Technology Prize for its efforts last year.

The software can monitor the Covid-19 situation in migrant worker dormitories, optimise Covid-19 testing operations and trace contacts automatically.

She said: "There wasn't a clear problem statement, so we began... brainstorming about what were the existing systems, technology and skill sets we had to put together, something that could help out with Covid-19."

She said her team managed to adapt software under development for the army, allowing the team to deliver an initial product in two weeks, with features added and refined later.

She currently helps DSTA to develop its capabilities in command, control and communications (C3) technology as a senior programme manager at the programme office in the agency's C3 Development Programme Centre.

In this role, which she has held since last October, she manages a team of developers and engineers and coordinates projects with other departments and agencies.

Ms Ang, who is married with a six-month-old son, credits both her father - a retired navy first warrant officer - and her own temperament for driving her to work in defence technology.

"Growing up, my dad told me some of his stories... This piqued my curiosity and naturally, I became open to starting out in defence," she said.

Her father, an electronics enthusiast, nurtured her tinkering as a child instead of scolding her.

She said: "I'm a problem solver. I like challenges and I enjoy the sense of satisfaction when I can get around these."