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Scott Eyles has been IT Technical Lead for IT projects at Raytheon Australia for approximately 12 months. He started at Raytheon Australia four years ago. He talks to aerospace-technology.com about his career so far and passes on advice for anyone looking to follow his path.
What does your role involve? (What do you do day to day?)
Essentially I am an in-house IT consultant for Raytheon Australia. I work with teams from across the business to determine the IT requirements for new projects and then provide solution designs and appropriate budgets for those projects. I also run our IT support at international trade shows.
How does this role fit into the bigger picture of the company?
I need to match IT solutions to business goals. IT is often referred to as a ‘business enabler’, this is very true. We constantly use process improvement tools such as Raytheon Six Sigma to review internal and external business communication methods, which in turn allows the whole company to be more agile and responsive to customer’s needs.
What project are you currently working on?
My biggest project at the moment is our new Standard Operating Environment (SOE). The SOE is to be deployed to all desktop and notebook computer users across the company. I have been the technical lead for its design, testing and implementation. I am enjoying working on a project that impacts all employees. It presents many new challenges when compared with a product that will just sit in a data centre all of its life.
How has your career evolved?
I completed an 18-month advanced diploma of IT in Canberra before landing a level two helpdesk job with a large national internet service provider. I used that experience to transition to a helpdesk role with Raytheon Australia. Raytheon encouraged me to continue my studies and I completed industry certifications, including Microsoft and Cisco. Those additional qualifications, combined with plenty of on the job training (and late nights), enabled me to move into a systems administration role.
How has your career evolved, and where are you headed from here?
I am fortunate to have worked in IT from the ground up. It has given me a great perspective for my current role and allows me to consider both end users and IT administrators in my designs. I hope to build on the experience in my current role and move into a full-time IT project management position. Raytheon Australia’s nationwide network of offices and ability to utilise the resources of its US parent company, Raytheon, give me plenty of opportunities to travel within the organisation.
Did you encounter any challenges entering this industry/role? What were they, and how did you overcome them?
Raytheon Australia is a technology company that works predominantly within the defence industry. I didn’t come from a military background, so I was quite unaware of the specifics of the business and industry. I had plenty of questions, especially about all the acronyms. A lot of reading and not being afraid to ask the ‘dumb’ questions soon brought me up to speed.
What do you like about your job?
I enjoy getting out of my office and visiting the people I assist on the telephone. Often I have spoken with someone on the phone many times but we’ve never actually met. I find that our staff are passionate about what they do, whether it be working on a fighter jet or problem solving a system on a submarine. They are always more than happy to show you what they do and how it assists our customers. It certainly is a nice change from my usual seat in front of a computer!
What are the challenges with your job and how do you deal with them?
Perhaps the biggest challenge in my role is the diversity of our workforce and where they are located. Each member of Raytheon Australia’s workforce has their own unique needs and expectations. Many of our sites are embedded with our customers, this requires special consideration from both a security and infrastructure point of view. Getting the customer involved early in the design process and ‘assuming nothing’ has helped me overcome problems down the track. Whilst this creates some challenges, it has taught me that there is always more than one way to solve a problem.
What advice would you give for people looking to work in a role such as yours?
Lack of industry-specific experience is certainly a challenge when applying for roles in the defence industry. Perhaps starting in a role that will allow you to learn quickly, but move into a role you’d prefer would assist. Industry certifications such as Microsoft and Cisco also assists greatly when it comes to convincing your manager that you are ready for that next promotion.
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