Less than a year since he finished university, aerospace engineer Jason has rocketed into the workforce through BAE Systems Australia’s graduate program.
“I’m immersed in the research and development of some of the fastest travelling vehicles ever created, and which are currently the only reliable option for space access” Jason says.
“I feel immensely privileged to be able to work with rockets and considering my fascination with research and development, it’s easy to see how rockets, with their peerless capabilities, are a vector for further novel inventions!”
As a Graduate Aerospace Engineer, Jason works within a team of engineers and technology specialists working on rocket development, simulation and modelling.
“I work with my colleagues and our customer to understand the desired capabilities of the rocket to be developed and to elicit measureable requirements for its engineered components,” Jason says.
“These requirements are crucial throughout the design phase of the project where the use of rocket modelling and simulation is applied to rapidly evaluate rocket component configurations against the target requirements.
“Throughout the program, I’ve had opportunities to work with other graduate engineers and also collaborate with other engineers of various levels of seniority.”
Jason recently visited BAE Systems sites in the United Kingdom, at Warton and Portsmouth en route to the Institution of Engineering and Technology Young Professionals Summit.
“It was great to have hands-on opportunities to learn about the emerging technology and projects in progress within our UK business.”
“There was fantastic reciprocal interest in Australian capabilities with plenty of curiosity in collaborating on hypersonics and advanced manufacturing.”
What skills do you need to launch a career in this field?
Jason says a job in rocket simulation and modelling requires solid foundational skills in maths, programming, physics, and of course, engineering.”
“Problem solving is the skill that ties these disciplines together, hence, someone with a university background in STEM would fit in well,” he says.
“They would be able to apply their strategic ways of thinking and develop their discipline-specific skills on the job.”
Jason’s interest in designing rockets took off through his involvement in the Australian Universities Rocket Competition, as well as volunteer opportunities in his final two years of his study.
“I worked with multirotor drones and Internet of Things payload devices on a part-time basis as a cadet at Defence Science Technology Group (DSTG),” Jason says.
“I was fortunate to be able to bring some of this work to uni as my final year honours project”
“As much fun as it was to build and fly a hexacopter drone and payload from scratch, I realised I wanted to expose myself to a greater breadth of the project lifecycle.”
That’s where BAE Systems Australia would fit in.
That’s where BAE Systems Australia would fit in.
“I acknowledged that the novelty inherent to research and development activities really appealed to me, however, I was sorely lacking in experience across the span of technology readiness levels,” Jason says.
“After having some candid conversations with my cherished mentors at DSTG, I decided that BAE Systems Australia could offer me the best opportunity for growth in this area.”
Prior to joining BAE Systems, Jason completed a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Mechanical and Aerospace) with Bachelor of Mathematical and Computer Sciences (Computer Science) at the University of Adelaide.
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