Always a new challenge
From Graduate Engineer to respected Engineering Manager, Sally Brauer’s career at Saab Australia has been closely entwined with the development of our nation’s sovereign combat management system, AusCMS. That’s presented her with plenty of opportunities for growth.
How do you stay with the one company for nearly twenty years and not get bored? It hasn’t been a problem for Sally Brauer, who is on track to celebrate two decades with Saab Australia. Since joining the company as a Graduate Engineer, she’s enjoyed lengthy overseas postings, led teams – and helped to develop a highly advanced capability for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).
“I’ve had the opportunity to do so many different things that it has never been stale,” she says. “I've travelled and worked with different groups of people, I've held different roles within the company, and all of those things have given me the opportunity to stay engaged and to extend myself.”
Sally joined Saab in 2005, fresh from earning a degree in Information Technology and Telecommunications. She initially worked as a software engineer providing support to the Collins Class submarine’s ship control system, before she moved on to creating software for Saab’s 9LV system in Australia. This, in turn, led to a long overseas posting, working with integrating anti-ship missile systems into the 9LV solution used in Canada’s Navy Frigate upgrade program. “After training on the system in Järfälla in Stockholm, I was in Montreal for two and a half years and then Halifax Nova Scotia for six month,” Sally says.
Returning to Australia, Sally worked on obsolescence remediation for ship control systems before taking parental leave. Soon after coming back to work, she took on the key role of Software Manager overseeing the delivery of the new generation Mark 4 9LV system for Australia’s Supply Class vessels.
After another period of parental leave, Sally worked in roles including developing a roadmap for Saab Australia to deliver AusCMS across all RAN major surface ships. This led to her current role, AusCMS Engineering Manager – Hunter, through which she is helping deliver the AusCMS Australian Interface to the RAN’s future Hunter Class vessels.
Sally says the growth of AusCMS across her time with Saab reflects both its effectiveness and the passion of those working on it. “There are a lot of people here who are genuinely proud about the quality of the system and knowing how it's going to be used and that it's working well for the Navy.”
Another major benefit of working at Saab has been the opportunity to take parental leave and come back to meaty roles. “I have been able to take parental leave twice, and still come back and to get engaging roles and be considered for things” she says. “Now my kids are five and nine, so I still need some flexibility, and I find I can have that at Saab Australia.”
About AusCMS
Based on Saab’s 9LV, the Australian Combat Management System (AusCMS) is an advanced, Australian-designed-and-developed combat system. Variants today equip Australia’s Anzac, Canberra, Supply and Arafura classes of vessels, with an AusCMS interface planned for the Hunter and Hobart classes.