Make Your Move Archives – Find Your Place in SA

Breaking boundaries: how a career in computer science means you’re always engaged

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 [...]

2024-03-08T09:41:19+10:30March 6th, 2024|Categories: News|Tags: Defence industry, Defence Science, Find Your Place, Make Your Move|

Defence life inspires a career of giving back

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 [...]

2024-03-06T16:22:54+10:30March 6th, 2024|Categories: News|Tags: Career Change, Defence industry, Make Your Move|

From artillery and helicopters to land and aerospace

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 [...]

2024-02-08T16:20:05+10:30February 8th, 2024|Categories: News|Tags: Career Change, Defence industry, Make Your Move, Veterans|

Finding a place in Australia’s centre for space

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 [...]

2023-11-14T14:59:54+10:30November 14th, 2023|Categories: News|Tags: Find Your Place, Graduates, Higher Education, Make Your Move, Space Industry|

From experience comes future ambition

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 [...]

2023-10-25T10:26:25+10:30October 25th, 2023|Categories: News|Tags: Defence industry, Find Your Place, Graduates, Higher Education, Make Your Move|

There’s space for everyone in SA

Naida Rasheed is new to South Australia, having relocated from Sydney to join Southern Launch as a Launch Engineer. Space has always been on Naida’s radar. Growing up, she and her father often spoke about space, the pinnacle being the purchase of a family telescope. Spending many evenings zooming in on the rings of Saturn and the craters of the Moon, Naida’s passion was ignited. But was a career in space really possible in Australia? “Early on, when I was [...]

2023-10-25T10:33:55+10:30October 10th, 2023|Categories: News|Tags: Graduates, Make Your Move, Space Industry|

Gretel navigates through defence industry

Dr Gretel Png’s career journey has seen her work and study across the globe before landing in South Australia to work at Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) in late 2018. Through DSTG’s 2021 inaugural NAVIGATE program, Gretel undertook a placement with the Defence Innovation Partnership (DIP) where she worked to get the new Activator Fund off the ground. “I’ve applied for grants in the past and I wanted to see what it’s like on the other side: to be [...]

2024-02-12T15:04:31+10:30June 5th, 2023|Categories: News|Tags: Career Change, Defence industry, Defence Science, Find Your Place, Make Your Move|

Find your place in space and unlock a career that matters

In a time not all that long ago, you could have been forgiven for thinking a career in the space industry was something you would have to go overseas to do, and it involved being a rocket scientist or astronaut flying to the moon. This is definitely not the case with a range of exciting careers now available in South Australia in an industry that’s making a difference to the way we live, and helping to create a sustainable future. [...]

2023-05-09T20:33:30+09:30May 9th, 2023|Categories: News|Tags: Job Seeker, Make Your Move, Space Industry|

Zahra’s story

Antennas are everywhere. There are tiny ones in every mobile phone and laptop, and in the hardware that helps them connect to wi-fi. They are in the security tags that prevent shoplifting in stores. They’re in medical devices that can detect cancerous tumours. And, of course, there are the big ones that capture signals from satellites in space. Zahra Esmati has been fascinated by antennas ever since she studied telecommunications back in her home country of Iran. Now, she’s is [...]

2023-04-19T13:57:35+09:30April 19th, 2023|Categories: News|Tags: Graduates, Higher Education, Make Your Move, Space Industry|

Cameron jumps aboard South Australia’s naval shipbuilding industry

Wanting to take his skills in mechanical engineering to the next level and forge a rewarding career in the naval shipbuilding industry, Cameron made the move to South Australia two years ago to work on one of the nation’s biggest naval shipbuilding projects – the Hunter Class Frigate Program. After completing a graduate program with BAE Systems Australia and undertaking various engineering stints in electronics and maritime, Cameron decided to pursue his passion for naval shipbuilding. He made the [...]

2022-11-28T15:20:01+10:30November 28th, 2022|Categories: News|Tags: Defence industry, Graduates, Job Seeker, Make Your Move|

Samuel’s career sets sail in South Australia’s naval shipbuilding industry

After more than 10 years working on a variety of Defence projects in Victoria, experienced engineer Samuel knew it was time to take on a new career challenge and broaden his skill set. He made the move to South Australia three years ago to work on one of Australia’s biggest naval shipbuilding projects and hasn’t looked back since. Having worked in a number of different engineering and management roles across various Defence projects with BAE Systems Australia, Samuel jumped at [...]

2022-10-21T15:36:18+10:30October 21st, 2022|Categories: News|Tags: Defence industry, Graduates, Make Your Move|

Rocket scientist surges into dream career in South Australia’s space sector

As a young boy James dreamt of being an astronaut and his fascination with space has led to an exciting career as a rocket scientist. James recently made the move to South Australia’s thriving space sector where his career has taken off – and he’s now driving some of the most cutting-edge space innovations in the state. James works as a mechanical and thermal engineer for South Australian space company Neumann Space, which is one of only a few companies [...]

2022-10-18T09:59:53+10:30October 18th, 2022|Categories: News|Tags: Graduates, Higher Education, Make Your Move, Space Industry|

12 Next

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.

James, Mechanical & Thermal Engineer, Neumann Space

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.

Georgia, Systems Engineer, BAE Systems Australia

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.

Farisha, Avionics Engineer, Southern Launch

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.

Jessica, Hardware Engineer, Lockheed Martin Australia

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.

Ben, Chief Operating Officer, Inovor Technologies

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.

Simon, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, Silentium Defence

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.

Jeff, Systems Engineer, Nova Systems

There are a number of projects within South Australia which you can spend your entire career working on and still enjoy what you do.

Dhiren, Commercial Manager, PMB Defence

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.

Jamila, Project Manager, ASC Shipbuilding

This sector is growing fast, which means there are always new and exciting projects on the horizon.

Andrew, General Manager, Precise Manufacturing

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.

Zac, Support Technician, Silentium Defence

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.

Trent, Senior Systems Engineer, Nova Systems

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.

Rozanne, Senior Financial Accountant, PMB Defence

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.

Seth, Mechanical Engineer, PMB Defence

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.

Christian, Graduate Software Engineer, Silentium Defence

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.

Kyal, Digital Specialist, BAE Systems ASC Shipbuilding

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