Ian Lomas is Babcock Australasia’s Engineering Team Lead (Operations) within the Marine business unit. With extensive industry experience, accreditation as a Chartered Manager, and accreditation as a Chartered Professional Engineer, Ian is an all-round engineering powerhouse.
From developing engineering scopes of work, to engaging with internal and external stakeholders, to leading his team, Ian’s responsibilities range far and wide.
“The purpose of my role is to provide engineering support and governance for Babcock designed and maintained equipment fitted to the Collins Class submarines by the effective coordination of engineering activities conducted by the engineering team,” he details.
“The advantage of working for Babcock is that you get the opportunity to work on complex and interesting systems and equipment within a fantastic team that collaboratively work together to achieve mutual goals and strategic business objectives. To be part of a team that is trusted to deliver quality solutions to our customers within budget and in a timely fashion is a very satisfying and rewarding experience.”
Ian’s strengths not only lie in his technical expertise, as he’s also committed to supporting his team in growing their skillsets and unlocking their full potential.
“I actively seek out professional development activities and training opportunities for my team members, and mentor junior engineering team members,” he says.
“I get to interact with a variety of different people, have the opportunity to provide guidance and advice to others in order to support wider business outcomes, and have the opportunity to mentor, coach and train others, which is something that I’m extremely passionate about.”
Ian is well positioned to spark inspiration amongst budding engineers, having commenced his career at Babcock as a Graduate Engineer in 2010 and undertaking significant professional development during this time period.
In 2011, Ian embarked on an overseas secondment to Babcock’s design office in Bristol, United Kingdom, where he worked on various submarine platforms. In 2012, Ian returned to Adelaide where he was promoted from a Graduate Engineer to Engineer to Senior Engineer across a five-year period, before commencing his role as Engineering Team Lead (Operations) in 2017.
“I’ve also been fortunate enough to complete the South Australian Defence Industry Leadership Program (SADILP), a targeted, hands-on professional development program that provides individuals employed in the South Australian Defence industry with a toolkit to improve and enhance their personal and professional leadership skills,” he says.
Ian’s advice for aspiring engineers and those pursuing their dream job emphasises hard-work, passion, and building sound working relationships.
“Thousands of new jobs will be created within the industry over the next few decades, and we’re going to need intelligent, hard-working, and dedicated people to contribute to the various programs,” he says.
“Take the time to get to know the people you’re working with to form the close working relationships that you’ll need in order to work as part of a team and to ultimately succeed in your role. Speaking with your line manager about having a mentor assigned to you will help you to quickly adjust to your new role within the organisation and will provide you with someone to support and guide you throughout your career.”
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