AARON JOHNSON

Analysis Lead, based in Whangārei

What inspired you to pursue a career in engineering?

There were really no other options. I was always fascinated by how things worked and by making things in general. When I was considering what I could see myself doing for 40 years I knew it had to be something practical but still creative. As to why I went to Uni instead of a trade (fitter turner for example), I didn’t want to have to join the real world straight after school, so I went to Uni.

How did you get your start in the industry, and what was your first role?

I was tapped on the shoulder by an Alumni of the UoA FSAE team looking for young engineers. I got my start designing, building and testing amphibious prototypes with Gibbs Amphibians, it was in many ways a dream first job.

Can you tell me about some of the key projects or roles you’ve held that shaped your career?

Probably the three most impactful are:

(1) FSAE at UoA. That was a real trial by fire and rapid introduction to the full stack of engineering from simple part design through to technical management and very high-level design decision making. That really set me up well for later on. Although it was only as I got more experience in industry that I realized just how much.

(2) Energy Storage Startup. I co-founded a startup and was involved in the high-level concept development and in securing venture capital funding for the project. It was a great lesson in how engineering and business interact and how a vision can be brought to fruition in the real world.

(3) Liquid Hydrogen project with Fabrum. My first project with Caliber. I got lots of exposure to cryogenics and pressure vessel design which was valuable. But what really shaped my approach to engineering was getting to work alongside one of the funders of Fabrum and getting exposure to the project engineering side of making big things happen.

What’s been the most rewarding project you’ve worked on in your career?

Definitely the Liquid Hydrogen project with Fabrum.

What are some of the most valuable lessons you’ve learned along the way?

People are the key to every problem/project. Figuring out how to make the technology work is relatively easy when compared to figuring out how to get the necessary people to all play together nicely. If you can figure out the people then the other problems will just melt away.

What attracted you to Caliber?

I tend to get bored once I get a good handle on a new industry. With Caliber I get to be constantly thrust into positions where I feel a bit out of my depth. Which is an ideal place to be when you want to maximise your rate of improvement.

What does your current role at Caliber involve?

Aside from the secondment work I do a lot of peer review of others work and mentoring them to help them raise their game. I am also responsible for curating the technical resources relating to analysis at Caliber.

How would you describe the culture at Caliber?

Excellent.

How does working at Caliber differ from other places you’ve worked?

Aside from the variety. Caliber really put their money where their mouth is when it comes to looking after and fostering their engineers. They really do put serious effort into supporting and helping us grow in a way that I haven’t really seen elsewhere.

What do you enjoy most about working at Caliber?

The variety of projects and the variety of people I get to work with.

How have you grown professionally since joining Caliber?

I have expanded (or been thrown) into the project engineering space which is not something I had much experience with before joining Caliber. Getting to see behind the curtain and observe how large projects get done in a commercial sense as well as a practical sense has been hugely beneficial for me. Understanding the commercial context of projects makes an important difference to how I operate as an engineer.

What advice would you give to someone just starting out in their engineering career?

Ask the dumb questions. You will learn way more that way. And just occasionally you will uncover gold. Remember the answers to the dumb questions so your questions can get less dumb over time.

What’s something you wish you knew earlier in your career?

Very few people really know what they’re doing. Defer to the experience of other but don’t do so blindly. This relates to asking the dumb question above. A corollary to this is accepting that you will almost never feel like you really know what you are doing. Get used to feeling that way and leave yourself room accordingly.