Spotlight on SAGE.

On International Women's Day, SAGE Systems Engineer Andrea Dimey shared a few insights about what it's like working in a traditionally male-dominated field, and why she enjoys her job so much.

1. What is your role at SAGE?

I am a Systems Engineer at SAGE Automation. I’m originally from Colombia but have been in Adelaide for the past 10 years. I’ve been with SAGE for almost a year and I work mainly with SAGE’s water engineering team. We’re a small part of the broader projects department that delivers work across the utilities, defence, transport, resources, energy, smart cities and manufacturing industries.

SAGE Systems Engineer Andrea Dimey would like to see more women taking up engineering careers

2. Can you tell us more about what your role entails?

I design SCADA system which is a graphical user interface used to control and supervise different processes in a plant. For example, imagine a water treatment plant, there’s a whole lot of equipment and devices that need to run automatically or manually. The SCADA interface is the tool that helps the operators control those processes. We work closely with SA Water’s project managers, plant coordinators and the operators on projects to improve their systems and the way they manage their water assets. We do workshops with the team there, then come up with bespoke solutions, including engineering, design, testing, commissioning and even facilitating training on the new systems.

The great thing about this type of engineering is that I could be working on a water project one day then apply the same knowledge to Defence, resources or even the transport industries.

3. As a woman working in a traditionally male-dominated field, would you like to see more women taking up engineering and related disciplines?

In the water team where I am working now there is currently just one other woman, so of course I would like to see more women taking up engineering! However, working as a female engineer is great. The work we do is the same. We are treated equally to the men and we are given the same opportunities. Besides, I think women are more organised employees (laughs).

4. Why do you enjoy working at SAGE?

The work at SAGE is multi-disciplinary and I love that we can work in different industries and various control assistance areas such as SCADA, PLC or RTU. There is also a fantastic culture at SAGE, so even though the company is large, the management team is always approachable. Our motto is ‘smarter future, better world’ so it’s great to see my work contributing to the greater good, as well.

Plus, I am fortunate to be based at SAGE’s head office within Adelaide’s Tonsley Innovation Precinct which has cafes, table tennis and squash courts so it is a nice environment to work in and helps to promote a better work / life balance. I like the whole concept of the precinct actually, which is about bringing together the most innovative companies and research institutions to solve real-world problems.

For a taste of what life at SAGE is like for our staff, watch our video below:

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