Steven Donnelly

What's your job about?

I work as the System Engineering Lead for the Air Traffic Control & Air Defence projects at Rohde & Schwarz Australia. Because we are an agile team, I get to be involved in a project from the beginning right through to the end. From the conception and discussions on what complex issues/problems a customer is looking to solve; to being involved in technical discussions with customers and suppliers; to delivering a functioning system to meet expectations on site and providing ongoing through-life support. This process can vary from as little as six to eight months, through to multiple years, depending on the level of size or complexity. Each project has its own unique issues, and as an engineer I would need to leverage off my own skills and knowledge, the skills and expertise of my team in Australia, and the wealth of knowledge from our parent company in Germany and its affiliates in Europe. 

I have especially been focused on Air Traffic Control communication projects, as we have a cutting edge IP-based Voice Communication Switch (VCS) that serves as the core of our projects. Because our systems have many features (and we are continuing to add to these) and are highly customisable, I would need to work with a customer to understand how they intend to use our system. I would then work as part of the team to follow a logical, systemised approach to make sure all needs and requirements are addressed. 

What's your background?

I grew up in the small town of Gisborne, New Zealand, where I finished my schooling and got my first full-time job in a corn factory – packing corncobs into boxes (it was very boring). I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, but I knew I didn’t want to be in that corn factory, so I started thinking about what I would prefer to be doing. And as luck would have it, I got my first break into the technical world when I was accepted to join the Royal New Zealand Air Force as an Avionics Technician trainee. 

I made great friends and I loved diving into the technical details, learning to work with other people (including subject matter experts) and how best to get a job/task done (both technical and non-technical). I developed these skills so well that I finished top of my recruit and technical training courses, and had the privilege of being presented these awards from the NZ Minister of Defence and Director of Training for the Air Force (these photos hang on the wall at my grandmother’s house).

I loved my time learning and engaging with other people so much that I would teach classes (both paid and voluntary) to adult students on engineering topics while working as a technician and completing part-time postgraduate studies of my own (Honours Degree). 

I joined Rohde & Schwarz Australia in 2015, repairing/calibrating our range of communications and test equipment. I used this start in the company to apply myself and move into the System Engineering department. Turning ideas, design conversations and concepts into a system that has never worked before is something I have always wanted to do. As of today, I work as the Systems Engineering Lead on various engineering projects with customers & suppliers both locally in Australia and in various other parts of Oceania, Asia & Europe. I have enjoyed significant success in my projects, and have had the pleasure of working in some awesome parts of the world. 

Could someone with a different background do your job?

100% yes! I believe anyone with any background could pursue a systems engineering career. I think it would be more important to be:

• willing and hungry to learn, 
• have a keenness for technology
• have an optimistic outlook (not compulsory, but it helps)
• are open to work as part of a team.

I would totally recommend an engineering career. One of the most important parts of succeeding is to have quality people around you. We have those at R&S, so I would recommend graduates with these attributes (or work towards having these attributes) to join our team.

What's the coolest thing about your job?

I get to use my problem-solving skills to turn conversations with customers into a real working communication system. I also get to deploy to wherever this communication system will be used, and use my skills and my international team’s support to deliver a system to our very keen customer.

The best memory would be making a test call to a ground station over 10,000 kms away, and have representatives from the customer commenting how these communications could not be achieved before, and 'the sound quality is crystal clear.' Very proud to be part of projects that produce feedback like that!

What are the limitations of your job?

I like reading and watching videos on cool and interesting technologies in my spare time and would use the projects I am involved with to focus my time on work-related learning. This would be a limitation to my job, as I am generally a nerd and like deep diving into this kind of work-related learning. This job is more like a lifestyle than a standard job, so I would say it might not be for everyone... But definitely for those who are even semi-interested in how things work.

3 pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student...

1. Find people who are going in the same direction you are, and befriend them. My most effective times (personally & professionally) was when I was around like-minded people, especially when doing things like studying complex engineering concepts at University.
2. It’s okay if you don’t know if a career in engineering (or any other field) is for you or not. The best thing you can do is go out and do something… it’s easier to see if it’s for you if you give it a go!
3. If you love at least 10% of your job, you are a very lucky person (it’s probably less than 10% - but that’s a ballpark number). Most cool jobs have a large amount of not-so-cool parts to them.