Leidos

What’s your job about?

Leidos is a large scale prime systems integrator. As a software engineer, I am involved in a number of activities that is useful to our customers and helps to solve their challenges. I help build deliverable software, integrate existing software, take part in ceremonial meetings based on the software engineering methodology, and team communications both online and in-person, to ensure the works progress effectively and efficiently through the day. We utilise a fairly advanced tool stack to facilitate project management and team collaboration.

The skills and experience you learn in this role are transferable to many different roles and positions throughout the IT industry, so if you are not sure this is for you, never fear, there is a whole bunch of other things you can do.

What’s your background?

I grew up in the northern suburbs of Melbourne and throughout my early school years, I was not sure what I wanted to be or what I wanted do but I was always interested in computers. Since I was really young I would help my brother in his computer business which fostered a healthy curiosity for how computers worked. Over time I understood the hardware and then began wondering about the software. For a while, the software was always an interest but I never followed that interest.

I studied business and international business at two different universities but was never really won over, I felt something was just not clicking. Later I decided it’s about time I looked into IT. That was the best decision I made throughout my tertiary education. I had found what I was really interested in and what I enjoyed. After my first year studying Information Technology I was so sure that this is what I wanted to do for a living I started job searching and attending job fairs as soon as I could. It was at the Big Meet in 2017 that I met the representatives for Leidos at one of the stands, after about two minutes of speaking with the team I knew this is the type of organisation I wanted to work in. Further research into the company solidified this gut feeling, and so I submitted my application. The first two times I applied, I made it quite far in the application process but was unsuccessful. However I was not one to give up, the third time I applied I had made it all the way to the face to face interview’s and after a short time, I received the exciting news… I had made it through. One thing I would like anyone reading this to take away is to be persistent, and do not take rejection personally, learn from it and try again. Understandably the industry is huge and thousands of applicants each just as bright and capable as the other apply to the same role, I was just humbled to be a part of the process no matter the stage. I am now in my second year working at Leidos and I could not tell you where the time has gone, I guess time really does fly when you’re having fun.

Could someone with a different background do your job?

Suppose someone wants to do the same job as you do, would that be also possible with a different background?

Yes! With an open mind and a willingness to learn, anything is possible.

What’s the coolest thing about your job?

What I love about my job is the fact that as technology changes so do our approach and implementations, in turn leading to learning new things all the time. In regards to Leidos as a company however, it is a fantastic organisation which takes great care of its employees. There are always events being held to facilitate mingling with co-workers and celebrating of milestones and there are flexible work arrangements to suit your lifestyle supporting a healthy work-life balance.

What are the limitations of your job?

A steep learning curve. If one has not done anything like this before there is a fair bit to learn before being self-reliant, however again nothing an open mind and willingness to learn won’t solve. There is also the physical side, naturally, for this role you are sitting down a lot, regular walks and exercise is your friend here. Teamwork is a massive part of the job if you are alone ranger start building your team skills. In saying that however, the people at Leidos are amazing and very understanding, you’ll never feel isolated or left out, and over time you’ll be picking up the skills needed naturally.

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

1. Do what you enjoy!
2. Get into industry as soon as you can, school is great, but industry is very different.
3. Be persistent always!

What’s your job about?

Leidos Australia is a provider of Science and Technology solutions to the Federal Government. Within Leidos I am currently working as a DevOps Engineer. I am currently working on maintaining monitoring solutions, as well as scripting and automation.

Usually, I begin with the daily Engineering Team stand-up meeting, where each team member outlines what their day will entail and asks any questions that might have come up on the previous day, and any team issues are addressed. Next, I will check for any new incidents assigned to me, as well as following up on any issues from the previous day or raised over night. I am then able to move onto my project work which changes from day to day and varies from working on writing designs, or attending design meetings to completing actual implementations. I also get involved in helping other projects by providing my expertise and knowledge or creating scripts that have been previously developed.

What’s your background?

I grew up in the regional centre of Coffs Harbour, mostly spending my early days outdoors. Not exactly the sort of life that gets you ready for a lot of time working with computers! In my early years, I never really had an interest in computers. It was not until my parents bought the family a PC that I became the kid who could help with small computer issues—mind you I was guessing a lot of the time. In high school, I took all the computing classes available in order to learn as much as I could to further my knowledge. After school, my big opportunity came when I was offered a traineeship from my graduating high school as a network administrator and I fell in love with the IT industry. I moved to Sydney to study a Bachelor of IT, followed by a Master of Science (Internetworking) where I specialised in Network Administration and Design, as well as programming. After finishing my master’s degree, I applied for the graduate program at Leidos as a Systems Engineer. My role in the company has developed to a DevOps position which I have been in now for two years.

Could someone with a different background do your job?

It is possible for someone with a different background to do my job. In fact, a lot of people in my team have different backgrounds. Not all of them are university graduates either. I often find I learn a lot from the colleagues who do have different backgrounds. The role I am currently working in requires people who really like to solve problems. A large portion of my day is spent on tasks which involve being given a list of requirements and a deadline, and needing to create a solution that is efficient yet able to be deployed quickly. It is a challenge but when the work is delivered it feels extremely rewarding.

What’s the coolest thing about your job?

The coolest thing about my job is the constant flow of new challenges. Each day brings a new task, with varying types of work so no two days are the same. One day might be focusing on a critical script that will need to be deployed to restore some form of functionality while another might be developing an entirely new system. For me this is great for staying engaged, and continuously learning new skills and growing each day.

What are the limitations of your job?

Like any job, there are peak times when we are required to work longer days in order to meet deadlines. And likewise there are times when we have some quieter periods. It’s not so much of a limitation but something to be aware of. Importantly it is not a job that you can do on your own: it is a highly collaborative role that absolutely relies on the whole team and wider organisation. I know this is something that some people might struggle with, especially coming out of university.

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

At university group work is going to be hard at times – Always do your best to show up for your classmates. Keep casual communication open so you know what’s going on. Be ready if you need to pick up for others and do your best to account for these times before deadlines.

Connections are important – The friends you make at university are contacts into companies and always a good place to bounce personal ideas off. Don’t be shy and put yourself out there.

Make time for yourself – It is easy to let the deadlines get to you, but look after yourself and rest when you need—you’ll do better work and learn more.

What’s your job about?

My current role as a Project Coordinator is to plan and communicate upcoming activities with my team, track the budget and schedule, report our progress to the client and upper management, work with suppliers to obtain their services and ensure the technical team have everything they need to perform their work. My role can also include writing plans for an upcoming phase of the project or working with another part of the team to gather and consolidate information.

I work in one of Leidos’ larger projects so there’s always a lot happening; because of this, there’s opportunity to work with many different people across different project areas. Working in a large team also means that you can see many different working styles and can pick and choose what others do that you may want to implement. 

My advice for project management graduates (in particular ones with a limited IT background) is to proactively learn technical information from teammates such as Solution Architects, Software, Network and Database Engineers etc. Although project management principles apply to many fields, having domain-specific knowledge will make you a more understanding and effective project manager. 

What’s your background?

I grew up in Brisbane in an area surrounded by bush, so I was lucky enough to experience living alongside lots of native animals around like wallabies, goannas, bush turkeys and carpet pythons.

For many years I planned to be a research scientist and so I studied a Bachelor of Biomedical Science.  After working in three different research laboratories I realised that although I love science the day-to-day life of a researcher wasn’t for me. I decided to start anew by moving to Melbourne and studying a Graduate Diploma of Business. During my studies, I interviewed at Leidos and was accepted into the 2019 grad program as a Project Coordinator. I’ve been a Project Coordinator at Leidos for 2 years and am really enjoying it here.     

During my time at Leidos, I’ve worked in a Proposal team in Leidos’ Business Development area and in two different projects during the execution and project closure phases. The Business Development area of Leidos is quite different to the project side; I think it’s a valuable experience to first work in a project and then get involved in some proposal work. 

Could someone with a different background do your job?

Yes, someone with a different background to me could definitely perform my job. I’m a Project Coordinator working in IT however my background is neuroscience, genetics and business. Whilst taking some more IT courses at university would have helped, a lot of the skills and knowledge required in my role is specific to my project or the governance structure and processes which I need to comply with. As long as you actively learn and ask questions along the way it’s possible to build the skills to work in an area you don’t have an extensive background in.

What’s the coolest thing about your job?

I’ve landed in an amazing team that has given me great development opportunities; because of this I’m now responsible for delivering a body of work within my project. My favourite part of the job is when my team and I achieve a key milestone after many months of hard work. 

My role also requires me to interact with lots of people including the technical team, upper management and external suppliers. I enjoy building relationships with team members and suppliers outside of Leidos as most people I’ve worked with have a really good sense of humour which makes work really enjoyable.

What are the limitations of your job?

Because I’m responsible for delivering a body of work I have to obtain resources, closely track the finances & schedule and report my team’s progress. Although my team is amazing and always available to help, I tend to put pressure on myself to ensure I feel in control of what I’m responsible for delivering.

Project Coordinators have to make lots of phone calls and interact with many people. Someone who doesn’t enjoy talking to people and building relationships with others would likely not enjoy this job, having said that you don’t need to be extrovert to do well in this role.   

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

1. Taking the occasional early study break or going on that 3-day road trip won’t hurt your results, you’ll come back refreshed and be more efficient when you return to study.

2. Keep in contact with lecturers and tutors; they may know of potential job opportunities or become a mentor.

3. Your limited work experience doesn’t make you less valuable than someone with more experience. You will be able to work with the same confidence and capability that others possess with time; as long as you do the best that you can with the skillset you have at the time then that’s enough.

I transferred to Intelligence and worked in rooms with no windows and on ships at sea in the Middle East and the Australian region. I was lucky to be able to do my Masters back at ADFA when my eldest child was 6 months olds.

I moved 18 times in 21 years until I finally bought my own home in Canberra. At the same time, I had my second baby at the age of 43 and had a moment where I decided that I didn’t want to be a nomad any more. So I left the Navy in May 2019 and joined Leidos Australia.

What’s your job about?
Leidos Australia are an IT company that are building ‘Google TV’ for Defence users on a Defence IT system. I am their ‘pet intelligence officer’ because I have experience doing the job of an Intelligence officer and our software is aimed to make their lives easier. So how does someone with an Arts degree get a job with an IT company? I say that it’s my job to be the translator. I speak military and so I translate military-speak to the IT team, I’m learning IT so I can speak it to the project team.
Essentially I am a liaison between the software team in Melbourne and the customer in Canberra. I have also coordinated working groups (more talking!) where we have shown our work in progress to military people in uniform and the software team take their feedback and incorporate it. It helps that I am the sort of person who likes to talk to people and that’s pretty much my entire job.

Did you always know you wanted to work in this field?
I never imagined working for an IT company as I’m not technical at all. I am great with words – speaking them, reading them, researching and writing. I even did sales for a while because it’s all about words and talking. My job now is the happy combination of my military experience, my sales experience, my love of talking and telling stories to get my point across. I am loving learning all about the way software works and connects and all the hidden ‘under the hood’ mysteries and I am using my natural skills in explaining that technical information in a simple way.

What is most rewarding about your job?
I love the lightbulb moment that people get when I am explaining something. Whether I am demonstrating our software in its development stages and people say ‘wow that’s amazing! I can’t wait until it’s finished!’ or I am explaining some nuance of the way the military works – just what is an OODALOOP and why is it important to our software?

What were some of the challenges you faced in getting to where you are now?
Being a chatty, bubbly person in the military meant I attracted attention, and not all of it was positive. It’s called being a heat-seeker! It’s great in my current job though! The tough side though is being ‘piggy in the middle’. When things get tense, when we are up against a deadline or something isn’t working, I am in the middle. It is great that I am a sensitive person when it comes to managing relationships, but when everyone is tense – it’s important not to take it personally. I cannot have an ego and can never say “I was right!” to the customer, even when I was!

3 pieces of advice you would give women who want to work in your industry?
Don’t change yourself to fit your job, change your job to fit yourself. If you feel like you to have to make yourself be smaller to fit in at work – then that workplace isn’t for you. My best bosses were the ones who recognised my unique abilities, gave me direction and let me go. I then aspired to be an empowering boss like them.  Doing something that isn’t work-related adds another element to who you are, so try something different and random. My sales experience has helped me do software demonstrations and taught me how to explain things.

The majority of my experience has been on the job, moving up to help desk support then onto project management.

My first ‘real’ IT job was with a major retailer, working on a Windows rollout, in the application packaging area.  I loved deployments, I loved translating tech jargon to business-speak and I enjoyed the pace of projects.

Many years later, I am now running a team of nearly 60 people, managing major computing environments and services for a Government agency.

Throughout my whole career, the most valuable thing for me was the open and honest guidance I have received from various mentors.  I learned very quickly that if you were willing to ask for help, there is always someone willing to provide it.

What’s your job about?
My current areas of responsibility are the management of an ongoing services team responsible for the delivery of end-user services for Defence.  We cover several services, including endpoint security, printing services, Microsoft operating system build services, Application Packaging, endpoint management configuration services, Verification and Validation testing and Release Services.  We have the most impact on the Defence end-user experience and are responsible for ensuring Defence endpoints remain on current version operating systems.

We have coverage of 6 major environments and support over 150,000 machines and 120,000 users.  We have to ensure updates go out to the fleet with no end-user interruption or interaction – so imagine your home pc updates that occur – we do all that in the background and track compliance for each machine.

Did you always know you wanted to work in this field?
I had no idea what career choice I wanted to follow.  Nearly 30 years ago when I started this role, it wasn’t very common that IT support was a widely chosen career path.  I had two IT subjects at school and never really touched IT apart from the home dial-up modem connection and Napstar!  Once I started to get involved in IT, I loved the fact that each issue had a solution.

What is most rewarding about your job?
I have a team of highly professional engineers that are very skilled at what they do.  I love seeing them come up with solutions and concepts that are not only making their lives easier but improve customer experience.

I love being able to translate from the technical to the business talk.  We provide a lot of reports on a daily basis and it’s not just about providing data but providing the context of what the reporting means.

I also enjoy the forward planning of what we are going to be implementing and how.  The struggles that go along with this include ensuring we have enough funding, resourcing capacity and customer buy-in.

What were some of the challenges you faced in getting to where you are now?
There are two sides to every coin.

The challenges of this role are mainly about the pressure that comes with supporting the Australian Defence force.  We are responsible for ensuring that they have a reliable and available platform to allow them to do their main role in supporting the warfighter.   When you remember it in this context, a small issue that affects 20 people could be a detrimental impact on an active Defence operation.  I have to ensure we understand the impact of what we are dealing with and ensuring we have the correct priorities assigned.  When we have an issue in the environment, we work 24×7 to remediate it and return services.  So often, I have had many weekends interrupted with urgent calls.  There is a real sense of satisfaction in remediating these large issues and supporting the team to return of service.

3 pieces of advice you would give women who want to work in your industry?
Think about possible progressions in the role and test yourself against what suits you best.  Is it people leadership, technical management, architectural expertise, project management, etc?  Each career path has its own requirements from a strengths/personality trait.  See what aligns to your own areas of interest and then devise a plan to achieve it.  Floating aimlessly and hoping for the best is not a development plan.  Take it seriously and it’s ok to try and change tack.

For most of my experience, I have found myself as the only female engineer, but it never bothered me; all that matters to me is kind of work, surroundings and support from seniors. With my previous job due to long commute, non-flexible, non-supportive work environment I find it hard to spend time with my 2 young children and decided to change. That is how I landed up in my current job at Leidos Australia. Leidos Australia not only gives me the flexibility I was looking for but also the ongoing opportunities and learnings to continue my passion in technology.  I joined Leidos Australia as a Senior Software and now working as a Software Engineer Lead. This clearly shows how Leidos Australia is good in recognising talent and hard work.

What’s your job about?
With 20 years of local experience, Leidos Australia is a leader in providing practical solutions to the federal government using science, engineering and technology.

As a Software Engineering Lead, I am engaged in multiple projects. I am not only leveraging my experience but also learning new technologies, building innovative solutions and being part of the workforce working to solve the world’s toughest challenges in government, defence, intelligence, border protection and health markets. My daily activities involve creating and building innovative solutions, troubleshooting the issues, improving the processes, facilitating the agile event ceremonies, building healthy client relations, mentoring, and coaching my software development team.

As a people leader, I look forward to a face-to-face conversation with my teammates. It gives me great satisfaction to be part of their journey on the path they have chosen. My job is to align their interests, passion for the hands-on professional experience. At times, they may need to upskill; Leidos Australia provides a huge training platform and free courses.

Like my manager, who gave me the opportunities and provided me with the environment for my voice to have the audience, I try to do the same thing for my team and that involves coordination with program managers, leads etc.

Since last year, I have been part of the Women and Allies Network (WAAN) committee and we run many events on professional development such as inviting influential guest speakers, conducting mentoring sessions etc.

I believe Leidos Australia is not just the company but one big family where we look after each other, grow together, work together and have fun as well. We run few social events throughout the year to get to know each other and build relations

Did you always know you wanted to work in this field?
Well, not really. When I was at the university studying electronics, I never thought I would end up designing and developing software.

Since my first job, I realised computer programming, designing software is limitless and very creative. The idea of helping organisations to grow their business and communities for a better quality of life with the help of software attracted me the most.

What is most rewarding about your job?
The most rewarding thing for me as a senior engineer is when the customer is happy. Working with an amazing group of people to produce the best outcomes, build the relations and help a business to grow

What were some of the challenges you faced in getting to where you are now?
I have faced many challenges; the best challenge I have faced so far is juggling between parental duties, work duties and keeping up to date with emerging innovative technologies. However, working in Leidos Australia, that promotes work-life balance, flexible work arrangements has helped me to pursue my passion and also raising two young children.

One of the other challenges I have experienced in the past is unsupportive behaviour. Apparently, after talking to my female colleagues this is a very common challenge women face in the male dominating industry. However, working in Leidos Australia I can proudly say that leaders here are very supportive and very encouraging and they are good active listeners

3 pieces of advice you would give women who want to work in your industry?

• IT industry is very creative, innovative and fascinating, we not only need engineers but engineers who are collaborative, easy to approach, self-organised, self-managed and great mentors. I believe women engineers are better at doing all of this.
• The advice I have for women engineers is not to underestimate talent and capabilities. Speak your mind and make sure your opinions count. Challenge your abilities and push your limits, change is growth. IT industry has so many opportunities, unleash your talent and seek an opportunity that gives you a sense of achievement and scope to learn and grow. Work as a team and not individual to succeed.

I attended school in both the UK and in Australia and from about the time I was 14 or 15 I knew I wanted to work with technology in some capacity. Originally I’d planned to join the Army, study IT and eventually go into the private sector, but that was cut short when I got injured in and got medically discharged. So I took a different route and studied both my degrees externally, whilst working fulltime in IT jobs and by the time I graduated I was working in a team leadership role in a small business in Canberra. Over the past 10 years or so I’ve worked in IT engineering roles, as a Solutions Architect and as a Chief Technology Officer to mostly government clients.

I applied for my current role at Leidos in 2020 as I wanted to get back to the Architecture and Digital Modernisation work that I’d loved throughout my career. Throughout the interview process, I really liked the culture, smart people and the mission that Leidos has, so it was a no brainer for me.

Now, in my current role within the Leidos Australia Digital Modernisation practice, I work with a team of architects and technology specialists to help design IT systems and capabilities in areas such as cloud computing, application migration, end-user computing and across lots of different technologies.

What’s your job about?
Leidos Australia provides practical solutions that answer our federal government customers most complex challenges using Science, Engineering and IT and the team that I belong to is right at the centre.

My job is to help solve technical challenges, overhaul government IT systems to deliver better services to citizens and government customers. On a daily basis I understand problems, workshop ideas, design IT systems and explore different ways of doing things. I love the variety and the complexity of the systems we work with.

Did you always know you wanted to work in this field?
Pretty much. Since mid-high school, I had an inkling that I wanted to work with technology and I have done so throughout most of my working life. I really think it’s the best industry to work in and I’m never bored.

What is most rewarding about your job?
I get to solve new challenges every day and get to design and build complex systems. The single best thing though is working with brilliant people and I really value the team and the fantastic culture at Leidos. The work we do is important for our government, citizens and military, so it’s nice to be contributing to something bigger in some small way.

What were some of the challenges you faced in getting to where you are now?
Technology moves so fast and sometimes it’s hard to keep up. The thing I’ve always loved about technology is the change, continuous learning and being able to be creative in order to solve problems with technology.

The workload varies and sometimes it’s really busy and other times we have time to plan more strategically and work on longer-term efforts. I enjoy the variety, continual learning and it really feeds my curiosity at work, but some people may find that quite stressful.

3 pieces of advice you would give women who want to work in your industry?
My three pieces of advice to women who want to work in technology would be:

• Aim high, figure out what you want and work toward acquiring skills to get there. I’ve always planned my next role and started working on skills needed well before I’ve wanted to move into it.
• Seek out mentors that can be managers, team leads, colleagues and other women in IT that you admire. I’ve found managers and other women in IT are particularly willing to help you (so long as you’re willing to take action and ownership for your career).
• Explore different areas in IT and work out what you like and dislike.