Prospects in the SA defence industry?

[jupake]

Does anyone here work in the local defence industry? What do job prospects look like? Ive read up recently about some the stuff Denel and friends are doing. Very interesting. Beats having to code web apps all day long.

 

[cguy]

Does anyone here work in the local defence industry? What do job prospects look like? Ive read up recently about some the stuff Denel and friends are doing. Very interesting. Beats having to code web apps all day long.

I know someone who does. Did some computer vision stuff - sounded interesting.

 

[AntennaMan]

I work in the defence industry.

It depends on what type of job you're looking for. With conflicts all over the world, the outlook is quite good. Our company has grown by around 100 people in the last year alone.

On a side note, be wary of SOE's. The work they do might be interesting, but politically they are a hot potato and financially they aren't necessarily doing well.

 

[jupake]

I work in the defence industry.

It depends on what type of job you're looking for. With conflicts all over the world, the outlook is quite good. Our company has grown by around 100 people in the last year alone.

On a side note, be wary of SOE's. The work they do might be interesting, but politically they are a hot potato and financially they aren't necessarily doing well.

Im just a run-off-the-mill software developer at the moment. What would your advice be for someone considering the industry? Qualifications? Previous experience? Are the people ex-military? Stuff like that.

By SOE, Im assuming you mean State Owned Enterprises.

Thx for the info

 

[AntennaMan]

A formal qualification is important. If not that, then lots of experience.
Quality control and configuration management must be good. Tractability on changes (hardware and software) is extremely important.

I quickly had a look at two adverts for software type roles that were advertised in the last 6 months.

1. Graduate Software Engineer (12 month program)

Your role
Create a design from documented requirements
Implementation/development of software products using C++ and Qt
Software unit integration and testing
Assist with software requirements analysis
Estimating software development effort
Assist with software config management, quality assurance, corrective action, software reviews and software maintenance

Experience and skills
Hands on C++ experience
Some experience in databases
Experience in software development and coding, software specifications practices, software and hardware integration
Good working knowledge of MS office

Qualifications
B Eng (Electronic/Computer), BSc Computer Science or similar

2. Software Engineer

Your role
Form part of Software Engineering group, work independantly and collaborating with cross-functional teams.
Be involved in all phases of software development life cycle, planning, requirements, design, implementation and testing
Participate in technical meetings and design reviews
Create/Maintain software development documentation according to military and avionics standards
Software config and version control

Experience and skills
Minimum 5 years software development experience in a development environment
Strong C/ C++ / C# programming skills
Experience in industry standards and best practice in software architechture and design
Strong communication skills
Software development experience in an avionics or military environment will be an advantage
Software certification experience, using RTCA DO178 will be an advantage

Qualifications
B Eng (Electronic/Computer), BSc Computer Science or similar

Some people are ex-military, but mostly not. Those that are, are mainly the guys that did national service way back when and used that time to learn a trade. We have lots of ex military technicians here.
For the rest of us, we are normal engineers that did time in varsity or similar.

And yes, State Owned Enterprises....

 

[Pho3nix]

A formal qualification is important. If not that, then lots of experience.
Quality control and configuration management must be good. Tractability on changes (hardware and software) is extremely important.

I quickly had a look at two adverts for software type roles that were advertised in the last 6 months.

1. Graduate Software Engineer (12 month program)

Your role
Create a design from documented requirements
Implementation/development of software products using C++ and Qt
Software unit integration and testing
Assist with software requirements analysis
Estimating software development effort
Assist with software config management, quality assurance, corrective action, software reviews and software maintenance

Experience and skills
Hands on C++ experience
Some experience in databases
Experience in software development and coding, software specifications practices, software and hardware integration
Good working knowledge of MS office

Qualifications
B Eng (Electronic/Computer), BSc Computer Science or similar

2. Software Engineer

Your role
Form part of Software Engineering group, work independantly and collaborating with cross-functional teams.
Be involved in all phases of software development life cycle, planning, requirements, design, implementation and testing
Participate in technical meetings and design reviews
Create/Maintain software development documentation according to military and avionics standards
Software config and version control

Experience and skills
Minimum 5 years software development experience in a development environment
Strong C/ C++ / C# programming skills
Experience in industry standards and best practice in software architechture and design
Strong communication skills
Software development experience in an avionics or military environment will be an advantage
Software certification experience, using RTCA DO178 will be an advantage

Qualifications
B Eng (Electronic/Computer), BSc Computer Science or similar

Some people are ex-military, but mostly not. Those that are, are mainly the guys that did national service way back when and used that time to learn a trade. We have lots of ex military technicians here.
For the rest of us, we are normal engineers that did time in varsity or similar.

And yes, State Owned Enterprises....

Mind mentioning the companies that delve into such?
Salaries?

 

[AntennaMan]

Mind mentioning the companies that delve into such?
Salaries?

I'd rather not mention my company by name.

Head over to Defenceweb and have a look at the Virtual Press Office.

There you'll see the names of some of the defence companies operating in SA (though it might not be all of them).

As to salaries, how long is a piece of string? It will all depend on your qualifications, skills and experience. I'm not a software guy myself, so I'm not sure what the going rate is. Best would be to get in touch with the HR people at the various companies.

Most of the companies will advertise positions on their website and I've seen a lot of the defence jobs advertised on pnet.

Hope this helps.