Defending the skies

Mohamed uses his aerospace engineering skills to help protect Australia from air and missile threats

As a child, Mohamed and his family moved to Australia to escape the genocide in Darfur, Sudan. Today, as he works alongside F-35 fighter jets, he says he sometimes asks himself: ‘How is this even my life?’.

Mohamed was initially interested in business studies, but says one of his high school teachers thought he would be better at something more hands-on and recommended science and engineering technology.

“Ever since then I have been hooked and that has helped me to launch a soaring career in Defence,” he says.

Mohamed’s job as an electronics engineer in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) sees him working alongside a team of people building the RAAF’s capability in surveillance and control systems as part of the Integrated Air and Missile Defence System.

As an aerospace engineer, he says there’s no better place to be than Defence.

“I absolutely love the job: it’s challenging yet rewarding, and the professional friendships and engineering knowledge that I’m gaining are the most meaningful parts,” Mohamed says.

He uses science, technology, engineering and maths every day to assist with contract management, design reviews and reporting.

Now, he’s on the way to completing a Master of Space Engineering through the Australian Defence Force Academy.

“With the exciting developments in the space industry, especially with the creation of the Australian Space Agency and the government’s investment in space, as a junior officer it is a great time to upskill in the direction of military space operations.” – Charis Palmer