Scott’s unconventional journey into combat systems engineering
As a young boy, Scott Kallin dreamt of being a Fighter Pilot and despite working hard, he didn’t secure the grades required for the program. However, through hard work, commitment to professional development, and study support through Saab Australia, he is now exceeding those childhood dreams and working on naval ships as a Team Lead in Combat Systems Engineering.
After school, Scott completed an Electronics Apprenticeship where he worked his way up the ranks at multiple defence companies. Along the way, he learned about manufacturing engineering on decoy systems and deeper maintenance and test on missile systems, finishing up as an Electronics and Avionics Technician.
Scott then moved into the oil and gas industry, working as a fly-in, and fly-out field maintenance engineer while maintaining some of the largest oil rigs in Australian waters.
“At that time, the oil and gas industry was massive in Australia. It ended up being a pretty exciting time, but also very draining. I was constantly travelling, away nine months of the year in all kinds of remote places around Australia, offshore on oil and gas rigs off the coast of Western Australia and a lot of inshore ones in the countryside too,” he recounts
“Some of the experiences were pretty surreal - I learned how to escape a helicopter that was upside down and underwater…we did a training course for that!”
He then transferred roles and worked in aerospace sustainment, maintaining and upgrading electronic warfare systems on the AP-3C Orion, He then eventually moved to be a Technical Officer in Combat System Test and Activation on the Air Warfare Destroyer Program, which involved the delivery of three of the most advanced warships to the Royal Australian Navy.
In a defining moment of Scott’s career, he realised he had developed a passion for the engineering side of defence and transferred into a Naval Combat System Engineering role.
On making this decision, Scott says “I guess if I was a pilot, I'd know a lot about that aircraft. But as an engineer, I can learn about lots of different technologies and understand the mission of the customer we are designing it for. There is so much variety in what I do. I get to work across diverse projects, from upgrading an entire Combat Management System on a Destroyer, to testing radar systems at sea, to developing complex bids for future work”.
When looking to move companies, a role at Saab stood out to Scott immediately. “I heard rumours of this fantastic place with free coffee, subsidised massages, and two weeks extra leave a year, so I threw in a resume at Saab and here we are!”, says Scott. “Saab also have a fantastic reputation of delivering highly capable systems, and I felt this was a place where I could learn a whole lot.”
“Although I was slightly nervous about not having the university qualifications to back up my application, I was confident in my experience and applied for an engineering role at Saab.”
His incredible experience was soon recognised and rewarded by Saab when he was offered the Combat Systems Engineering role. Fast forward four years, later, Scott is still happily working with Saab and has been promoted to a leadership role. He is currently a Team Leader and responsible for thirteen staff.
“Building a team and watching them grow has been incredible. I’ve been lucky to have great mentors at Saab that have helped me grow as a leader. There are fantastic subject matter experts here that can really give you that depth on technical issues or even things like leadership queries. I hope I can provide the same mentorship to others.”
Thanks to the extra leave and flexibility afforded by Saab, Scott also has time to focus on life outside of work, spending time on completing a Masters degree in Engineering Management and relaxing with hobbies that complement his career path seamlessly.
“Saab have really supported my professional development with paid study leave and flexible working hours to get my assignments done for my Masters degree. Additionally, I have access to some great minds in the company for additional support. Being able to walk up to leaders to ask questions and being able to apply what I’ve learned at Uni in real-world scenarios has been invaluable.”
When considering the future, Scott is keen to see where his career at Saab will take him. Scott credits the general feeling of work at Saab for his desire to continue to grow within the company.
“After working at other large companies, I can’t compare how it feels working at Saab. The Saab mentality is ‘if we look after our people, they’ll work hard and do a great job’. As Saab is a Swedish company, the European attitude about work/life balance has really translated over to Australian headquarters in Adelaide.”
Three questions
The incredible mentors within Saab, the study opportunities I’ve been provided, and leadership development in my current role.
It’s all about building good relationships. The staff are friendly, and we all want to solve our customer's problems as a team. Saab feels different from other big companies. They care about the people. It’s not like that everywhere. Saab is special in that way.
It’s also the feeling. The perks are ridiculous. Free coffee. Gym onsite. Subsidised massages, and a strong social club.
I enjoy tinkering around the house on projects. I have a passion for pulling apart and fixing things. I have a long-term project restoring my childhood motorbike. I also love travel and learning about the world. Saab provides me with six weeks of leave each year and in recent years we’ve travelled to Vietnam, Cambodia, South Korea, and spent Christmas in Thailand.