Career paths: their first career steps in space, cyber, defence and hi-tech sectors

What did you study?

I studied a Master of Telecommunications from UniSA. This included the completion of the following professional certifications: EC council certified Ethical hacker, ITIL v4 IT service Management, CISCO CCNA, Splunk Enterprise certified Admin, Certified in Cybersecurity by ISC2, PMP certification training course and Incident Response and management training by Australian Cyber Collaboration with AizoOn.

What does your role entail?

I help businesses enhance their security posture through continuous monitoring, analysing threats in real-time, proactive threat hunting, prompt incident response, risk identification, and implementing effective solutions to mitigate potential threats.

What did you study?

I studied a Bachelor in Computer and Information Science at the University of South Australia and subsequently completed at Masters in Computer Science at the University of Adelaide. This led me to working with Defence Science and Technology for 12 years, first as a Computer Scientist and then as a Cyber Security Specialist.

What does your role entail?

I have been working at SmartSat CRC since January 2022 as a Satellite Systems Engineer on the Kanyini CubeSat mission, which has been designed, manufactured and operated from Lot Fourteen.

Kanyini is equipped with a miniaturized hyperspectral camera payload, developed by cosine Remote Sensing in the Netherlands, which will enable a number of R&D activities for SmartSat. In this role, I collaborated closely with Inovor Technologies, the satellite manufacturer, to ensure the seamless integration of this payload into their ‘Apogee’ bus system. More recently, my responsibilities have transitioned to the operational management of the Earth observation mission, following a successful testing campaign of the satellite’s flight model.

What did you study?

I am in my 3^rd year of a Bachelor of Business (Marketing) at UniSA.

What does your role entail?

I am currently interning as a marketer at C4 Space where I get to immerse myself in practical marketing strategies in a professional environment. Despite initially not knowing much about the space sector, my role has illuminated the accessibility of diverse career trajectories in the sector, proving that formal education in space sciences isn’t a prerequisite to work in the space industry. My internship has not only provided invaluable insights but has also reignited my passion for the work I love.

What did you study?

I studied a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering majoring in Aerospace and a Bachelor of Mathematical and Computer Sciences.

What does your role entail?

My job involves the design and development of different models to simulate the behaviour of satellite systems under various conditions.

My favourite part of my job is the opportunity to be creative and solve interesting problems that contribute to the advancement of space technologies.

What are you studying?

Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (Honours), Bachelor of Computer Science, and a Diploma of Languages (Italian studies). I’m currently in my 5^th (and final) year, completing my honours project.

What does your role entail?

As a Space Communicator I get to spend my days talking to the public about space!

I chat to people about how important space technology is in our everyday lives, and share stories about all the brilliant things happening in the Australian space industry (which means I spend lots of my day talking about all of the cool businesses at Lot Fourteen!).

My favourite part of the job is getting to suggest opportunities and share advice to people who are just starting to think about a career in space, and sometimes, even changing the minds of those who had never considered a space career.

What did you study?

I studied a Bachelor of Software Engineering at Adelaide University. I graduated in 2022 and have been with NQRY ever since. It took me a while to find my passion at university, and software engineering was actually my third degree. In the end, this path was the most rewarding and I’m very glad I chose it.

What does your role entail?

We produce software tools for law enforcement agencies that streamline their processes, with my role focusing on development and occasional deployment and design tasks. It’s very rewarding to see the impact of our team’s decisions and effort reflected within the software. It is also a super flexible and enjoyable work environment, with many opportunities to expand outside of my role.

What did you study?

I studied a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechatronic) (Honours) and Bachelor of Mathematical and Computer Sciences at the University of Adelaide.

What does your role entail?

I am working on the Kanyini satellite mission, utilising my software and systems engineering skills to test the software interface, document test procedures and results, and enable the integration and verification of the HyperScout 2 payload into the Kanyini satellite. I have also supported the team through the early stages of commissioning and operating the HyperScout 2 payload whilst in orbit.

Read more stories like this on Issue_03 of Lot Fourteen’s Boundless Magazine.