William Owen was born in Blackburn in 1881. He studied engineering at the Royal Technical Institution, Salford, from 1895-1902. He joined William Muir & Co as a draughtsman in 1908 and was chief draughtsman by the time he left in 1927. He took work as the head of research and development at Craven Brothers Limited in 1927 and retired from this company in 1955. At both companies, he was a specialist in gear hobbing machines. He travelled to Japan for William Muir & Co in relation to a contract for the Imperial Japanese Navy. He published papers on his research and development activity in The Engineer and the American Machinist, as well as giving lectures on gear hobbing machinery.