While many kids grow up with dreams of becoming an astronaut or pilot, not all have the ability and determination to achieve it. Born and raised in Scotland to an Australian father and Irish mother, Harrison grew up with the hopes of becoming an astronaut or a pilot. “I grew up admiring Neil Armstrong, and absolutely loved space technologies, so I had my sights set on the skies early on,” said Harrison. “But after realising I was colour blind and [...]
Born in Punjab, India, Shantanu Malhotra’s family moved to South Australia when he was just three, joining family who had relocated to take advantage of the state’s manufacturing industry. Growing up, Shantanu wanted to be a pilot, joining the Australian Air Force Cadets when he was thirteen until the end of high school. This early exposure to the Defence Forces gave him a taste of the opportunities available, including access to training camps, tours of air bases and instructional flights. [...]
Imelda Alexopoulos, Director of Exploration at Fleet Space Technologies - From receiving a Bachelor of Biomedical Science to becoming a successful retail banking manager, to then building a high-powered career in professional services consulting - at face value, this doesn’t sound like a road that leads to the defence and space industries. But this less travelled path is the one that Imelda Alexopoulos has taken, and she is not looking back. After serving in the Navy, Imelda Alexopoulos’ father settled [...]
Dr Janet Wilson, Lead Structural Engineer at KBR, Frazer-Nash Consultancy - Growing up in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Janet Wilson had a strong aptitude for maths and physics. While studying engineering in Scotland, Janet rose to the top of her class and hasn’t looked back since. Engineering was not a popular choice for many women of the time, but for Janet it was a career path that ‘popped’. “I was aware that engineering was not a path that I could go [...]
Claudia, Associate Professor at The University of Adelaide - In the realm of cutting-edge computer science, women are largely underrepresented. However, Claudia Szabo ardently pursued her interests, carving out a distinctive path as a female academic dedicated to the success of her students. Born in Romania, Claudia graduated with a degree in computer science from University POLITEHNICA of Bucharest and went on to complete her PhD at the National University of Singapore. “I stayed in Singapore for 10 years before [...]
Defence life is truly at the heart of Amanda Tarrant’s world. Amanda’s husband, Brad, is an engineer in the Royal Australian Air Force, which has seen the couple embrace Defence life in a variety of different locations. Originally born and raised in Queensland, Amanda met Brad while he was holidaying on the coast. At the time, Amanda was studying a Bachelor of Social Work at the University of Queensland and Brad was serving at the RAAF Base in Richmond, New [...]
Marc Bryant’s successful Defence Force career spanned England, Northern Ireland, Afghanistan, and Australia. And when it came to transitioning to civilian life, Marc and his family chose South Australia as their permanent home base. Like many other Top Gun fans, Marc Bryant grew up wanting to be a pilot. After completing flying scholarships with the RAF and Air League, Marc launched his military career with the Army at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. After commissioning as an Artillery Officer, Marc [...]
Jack Hopgood grew up in the Adelaide Hills, with dreams of a career working with animals. Attending Urrbrae Agricultural High School, he had all that he needed to achieve his goals. “As much as I loved animals, I realised through my study that science and maths were a real strength for me, so I ended up leaning heavily into those subjects rather than agriculture,” Jack reflected. “Going into University, I had no clear expectation of where I would end up, [...]
Nicola Higgins is born and bred South Australian, and proud to be working in Adelaide as a Mechanical Engineer for Mincham. Growing up, Nicola had a passion for maths and physics which meant that she saw her future clearly early on. “I knew that I wanted to do something in the engineering field but wasn’t sure which modality,” said Nicola. “After weighing up the options, mechanical felt like the most diverse choice with opportunities to work on anything from engines [...]
Allan Dias was born in Brazil and, after his father received a job offer, he found himself moving to China during high school. With a fascination for flight and a knock-back from the Brazilian Air Force, Allan had to really consider his future career path. “I was looking for an opportunity to explore my passion for flying while also being able to interact with other international students,” said Allan. “Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics was just that place.” Studying [...]
Born in Jordan, Sama was introduced to the Defence Forces as an early age. As refugees of the Iraq War, Sama’s father was forced to leave his family and immigrate to Brisbane under refugee status. Seven years later, Sama, her brother and mother were able to join him in Australia. Following in her brother’s footsteps, engineering was high on the agenda for Sama. “My brother is in civil engineering, and although I liked the idea of it, civil wasn’t of [...]
Peter Malinauskas MP Premier Susan Close MP Deputy Premier Minister for Defence and Space Industries Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science South Australians are invited to step aboard two Royal Australian Navy vessels visiting Adelaide and experience first-hand what a career in the naval shipbuilding industry or Navy can offer at a public open day to be held at Outer Harbor in November. The State Government, in partnership with the Royal Australian Navy, will host a Navy and Shipbuilding Careers [...]
I get excited about working in the space industry because putting something into space is so difficult. I love the idea of the challenge, that it requires a huge amount of work from so many talented people in a variety of fields all working together to make a project come to fruition.
I love that I’m able to work with others to solve problems that have an impact and make a difference every day while still being able to learn new things.
It was exciting moving back to South Australia not only because it’s where I’m from, but because of the emerging space industry. I wanted to help build the space industry in Australia from the ground up, rather than work overseas in an industry that’s already established.
There’s such a variety of opportunities in the defence industry and I’m really excited about the prospect of working on innovative and cutting-edge projects. I have some of the greatest minds around me and these people support me in my growth and development as an engineer.
Whilst a larger number of roles in the space industry are in engineering, there are lots of other ways to be involved. Space companies, like ours, still need accountants, lawyers and people in communications and marketing.
The best thing about leading a company in South Australia’s defence industry is shining a light on the local skills, talent, and innovation that exists right here, in our own backyard.
I’m excited for the opportunity to work on massive projects that have a real impact on the future of our Defence Force and the nation’s protection and security.
There are a number of projects within South Australia which you can spend your entire career working on and still enjoy what you do.
There’s a misconception that the defence industry is very serious, but the experience I’ve had is that we are a very creative and collaborative group of individuals working towards a common goal.
This sector is growing fast, which means there are always new and exciting projects on the horizon.
If there is something that you want to do, and you want to give back to defence, there is definitely a job out there for you.
What I love most about my job is being able to solve the problems that really matter, knowing that my work contributes to Australia’s national security and economic growth.
You don’t need to be in the armed forces or necessarily have experience in the defence industry in order to be successful and have a rewarding career. The industry is growing, well-funded and rampant with opportunity…I can’t see myself moving on anytime soon.
A lot of people study engineering and do very little engineering in their day to day role. I wanted to be doing calculations and getting my hands dirty in a work shop. I also wanted to be working at the forefront of technology development. This made defence the obvious choice.
I love the culture of our company and the tech we get to work with. The defence industry as a whole has so much to offer in terms of ground breaking technology. We get to develop really cool products and go out in the field testing them. It’s a really interesting industry with so many different aspects that can be worked on.
People should definitely consider a career in the defence industry, it takes all types to do the work that we do and there’s lots of opportunities for growth. Adelaide is not only a really nice place to live it’s a really fantastic place to work especially if you are in the defence industry.
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