Defence and Space Career Stories

Careers in the defence and space industries are much more than building ships or launching rockets and you don’t need a university degree to get involved.

Learn about the wide variety of roles and the pathways to get there from some inspiring South Australian defence and space industry employees below.

If you are in the industry and love what you do, share your career story with us today!

Shena Howell

Senior Systems Engineer, Shoal Group

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Georgia Dallimore

Space Communicator & Duty Manager, Australian Space Agency

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Anthony Kunda

Software Engineering Consultant and Program Manager, DEWC Services

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Loren

Communications Advisor – Events, ASC

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Dave Saunders

Operations Manager, Australian Space Weather Forecasting Centre

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Jeremy Satchell

Head of Industry Capability, BAE Systems Australia

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Bez Mohammadi

Pathways Manager, DIP

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Philippa McMurtrie

Graduate Engineer at ASC

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Nishanth Sri Shiva Madhavan

Launch Operations Engineer at Equatorial Launch Australia (ELA)

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Harrison Box

Founder, Paladin Space and Senior Systems engineer at BAE Systems

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Shantanu

Lead Mechanical Engineer, ASC Pty Ltd

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Claudia

Associate Professor, The University of Adelaide

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Dr Janet Wilson

Lead Structural Engineer, KBR – Frazer-Nash Consultancy

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Imelda

Director of Exploration Strategy, Fleet Technologies

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Amanda

Project Officer at Veterans SA and RAN Reserve Maritime Spiritual Wellbeing Officer

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Emily, BAE Systems Australia Safety Engineer

Christian, Graduate Software Engineer, Silentium Defence

Simon, Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer

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

Defence and Space Career Stories

Shena Howell

Senior Systems Engineer, Shoal Group

Georgia Dallimore

Space Communicator & Duty Manager, Australian Space Agency

Anthony Kunda

Software Engineering Consultant and Program Manager, DEWC Services

Loren

Communications Advisor – Events, ASC

Dave Saunders

Operations Manager, Australian Space Weather Forecasting Centre

Jeremy Satchell

Head of Industry Capability, BAE Systems Australia

Bez Mohammadi

Pathways Manager, DIP

Philippa McMurtrie

Graduate Engineer at ASC

Nishanth Sri Shiva Madhavan

Launch Operations Engineer at Equatorial Launch Australia (ELA)

Harrison Box

Founder, Paladin Space and Senior Systems engineer at BAE Systems

Shantanu

Lead Mechanical Engineer, ASC Pty Ltd

Claudia

Associate Professor, The University of Adelaide

Dr Janet Wilson

Lead Structural Engineer, KBR – Frazer-Nash Consultancy

Imelda

Director of Exploration Strategy, Fleet Technologies

Amanda

Project Officer at Veterans SA and RAN Reserve Maritime Spiritual Wellbeing Officer

Marc

Head of Land and Aerospace/Acting Head of Deployable Health and Infrastructure

Jack

Electronic Warfare Engineer

Nicola

Mechanical Engineer

Allan

Space Systems & Design Engineer

Sama

Software Engineer

Naida

Launch Engineer

Karen

Program Director

Jordan

Senior Lecturer, Researcher, Lead Partner & Chief Marketing Officer

Gretel

Senior Research Scientist

Scott

Graduate ICT (Cyber) Software

Samantha

Space Data and Technology Consultant

Ben

Chief Operating Officer

Farisha

Avionics Engineer

Cameron

Design Engineer

Reinaldo

Procurement Officer

Samuel

Engineering Manager – IT&E

Stuart

SOFTWARE ENGINEERING SENIOR STAFF

Emily

Safety Engineer

Kosta

Supply Chain and Project Manager

Georgia

Systems Engineer

Jeff

Systems Engineer

Jessica

Hardware Engineer

James

Mechanical & Thermal Engineer

Hugh

Project Manager

Seth