Graduate program
As a part of Saab Australia's Graduate Program, you will have the opportunity to contribute to your own personalised development initiatives, and kick-start your career.
Explore your potential
Saab Australia has over 30 years of successful operations within Australia, providing high technology solutions to defence and security customers. We develop everything from combat, communications and security systems to mixed reality and cyber security solutions. Alongside a team of world-class industry leaders, you'll have the chance to design, develop and integrate innovative solutions on our mission to keep people and society safe.
What does our program involve?
As a Saab Australia Graduate, you will work alongside experienced engineers, to deliver world leading and innovative projects. Saab Australia’s Graduate Program is a two year program, which through structured rotations, will offer you the opportunity to work across several areas within the business. Rotations are individually tailored to your current skills and developmental needs, individual preferences, and business needs. Following the successful completion of the program, you will be placed into a permanent position within the business so that you can continue your exciting new career.
What support will you receive?
In addition to the day-to-day support you will receive from your supervisors and team, you will also be provided with trained and experienced mentors from within the business, and access to the Saab Australia Graduate School. The Saab Australia Graduate School comprises of fortnightly lessons, which cover the overarching topics of knowing your personal brand, developing your business acumen, and advancing your technical skills.
What we look for?
We recruit talented high-achievers, who are inquisitive problem-solvers; and who have a passion for delivering products that will help to keep people safe. We seek well-rounded Engineering Graduates in the following disciplines:
- Electrical/Electronics
- Computer Systems
- Software
- Mechanical/Mechatronics
Please note, to work at Saab you must comply with defence industry security requirements (i.e. you will be an Australian citizen or able to meet eligibility requirements).
We open applications for our graduate program in March each year. Please visit our careers listing at the link below around this time to lodge an application:
Saab Australia current vacancies
You may also contact the team at careers.mailbox@au.saabgroup.com if you'd like further information.
Hear from our graduates about their experience at Saab Australia
‘I appreciate the opportunity to learn new skills and to feel like I am providing a tangible contribution to the solution of a complex problem.’
Tell us a little about your role at Saab
‘Saab Australia specialises in the development of Command and Control systems, primarily for the Australian Navy's Fleet. Our Modelling and Analysis team develops simulations to assess the performance of our systems in the most challenging scenarios and provides support to our software engineers in the design of complex algorithms - basically, we do the maths to help design the system and to show the Navy that it works.’
What is some advice you would have like to tell students?
- 'Uni is not just about the piece of paper, it's about ensuring you're equipped with the fundamentals of engineering and, more importantly, giving yourself a platform for ongoing self-driven learning throughout your career.'
- As a professional engineer, soft skills are required in addition to technical skills. Start developing them as early as possible (and have fun in the process)
- Treat failure as a learning opportunity - rather than stress about being perfect, give whatever it is your best shot, reflect critically afterwards and apply the lessons learned next time.'
‘Although the inital novelty of working on submarines does wear off, it is rewarding to know that the code you wrote is running on a submarine somewhere under the ocean and helping Australia's defence capability, even if in a small way. There are lots of smart people around to learn from and I'm always surrounded by interesting projects and technology'
Tell us a little about your role at Saab
‘Saab Australia is a defence and security technology company, within which I work on technology for Australian and Swedish submarines. I'm currently working on my teams ability to easily create augmented reality experiences from 3D computer-aided design (CAD) models. This involved using a CAD program to adjust models of submarine components, such as water tanks or winches; programming any actions within augmented reality, such as animating moving parts; and giving augmented reality demonstrations to various people. I am also involved with developing software for the system that drives the Australian submarines, which involves writing code and testing it using virtual submarine simulators or a physical room set up with computers to imitate real submarine equipment.'
What are the limitations of your job?
'Working in defence can be a slower pace than other industries. This probably suits people whoare self-motivated and enjoy taking their time to do a job well. Also, due to the need for stability and the long lifecycle of projects in the defence industry, you may find yourself working on very old technology. There may be fewer opportunities to work with cutting edge, modern technology than in other fields.'
A day in the life of a Graduate Engineer
7:15am
"I am usually one of the first people to arrive at work. Our hours are flexible and I prefer to start and finish early most days."
7:30am
"The first thing I do each day is check my emails. I see I have a reminder about mandatory training, a few emails from members of my team informing everyone about changes they've made, and a meeting request for lunch with the other grads in my cohort."
7:45am
"Time to get stuck into my tasks. We're able to pick which tasks we might like to do from the dashboard available tasks, then have a chat with our team leader who then assigns them."
"Currently, I'm working on a coding task to improve our Configuration Tool, which will ultimately save us a lot fo time configuring large, nation-wide sites in the future. We write our code using C# in Visual Studio, in the Windows environment. Some tasks involve some work in xaml, xml or sql databases as well."
9:45am
"It's time for a stand up meeting with my team. Today is a regular team meeting day, and we get together to discuss what we're all working on and any problems we're having. This is good opportinuty to bounce ideas around and find the right help."
10am
"I take a break from coding and work on some grad school homework. It's a great opportunity for further learning, where our company puts on fortnightly sessions for all the first-year grads."
12:30pm
"After lunch, I look into a problem we are having with one of our sites. Our movement tracking system just isn't starting up correctly. We have a test lab set up for this particular site, so I head in there to see if I can replicate the problem. I can, which means we can work on solving it a lot more easily than if we were just providing remote support to the engineers on site."
2pm
"I decide to go for a walk along Dry Creek to clear my head, there were even some Rainbow Lorikeets along the way!"
2:15pm
"I haven't spoken to my mentor for a while so I set up a meeting for next week. My mentor is in the cyber security department and is full of interesting stories and tips, and even though I'm quite settled now, I still like to meet with him to stay connected. After this, I get back to my coding tasks."
4pm
"Off the clock now and ready for sport. Once a week we have an organised inner-company sporting match. This is in our own time but is a great way to get to know more people and run around."
5pm
"Tennis isn't my strong point and I lost most of my matched, but it was good fun! Time to head home now and take the dog for a walk before settling in for the night."
Working at Saab Australia, you'll be involved in developing leading-edge technology solutions across the Defence and Civil industries.
Alongside a team of world-class industry leaders, you'll have the chance to design, develop and integrate innovative systems solutions on our mission to keep people and society safe.