Damien Reardon is one of our talented Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) team members supporting all devices across the Australian Defence Force (ADF). He joined PAC earlier this year as a Field Service Technician (FST). Before PAC, Damien worked at the Pilot Training Schools (PTS) Operations, East Sale, assisting the PC21 training at No 1 Flying Training School and Instructor Course training at the Central Flying School. Prior to that, he was a uniformed RAAF member for 19 years. He served across various areas, including Pilot, Officer Training Instructor, and Aviation Safety Officer, and he states he even dabbled in Air Traffic Control.
When reflecting on his career change, Damien said it happened due to some “self-imposed advice. That being, to be in command of your own happiness and trust your decisions—nothing bad can happen”. When the opportunity to work at PAC appeared, he thought it was a perfect way to combine his aviation experience with a niche area in that not too many people are involved. “I guess each previous role has assisted with the complexity of the next, so the progression into Aviation IT came from taking opportunities. Whilst this was a ‘leap of faith,’ I could immediately tell that the people around me were supportive, making the transition simple. I’m really happy with my decision to join a smaller company with highly skilled people doing wonderful things.”
The PAC team is also one of the things he likes the most about his job.
“Without a doubt, I love working with our team. Even though we are geographically dispersed, we communicate much better than most workforces throughout the day. It’s a testament to our flexibility and the way we do business. We all dig in to help each other to fix problems with a lot of teamwork. We set the scene each morning in our Huddle and hit our goals each day. We all have a similar mindset to be part of the solution.”
Damien also enjoys the healthier work-life balance and the flexibility to do the work in any situation: at home, on-site with clients, or remotely abroad whilst assisting units with no FSTs on-site. He’s also proud of his accomplishments as an FST, especially when he successfully explained or fixed a complex IT problem. “As a Field Service Technician, there’s an element of translating the IT speak into what the end user needs to know. It’s all about trying to keep it simple.”
Talking about keeping it simple, we asked Damien how he would describe his job to a class of kindergarteners: “I get to play with iPads and have ‘screen time’ all day”—PAC will get a lot of FSTs resumes in the future after this explanation, for sure!
Outside work hours, his passions are Formula One and learning about the sport’s technical and engineering aspects. He never misses an opportunity to go for a long hike and do some photography. Damien is also a “mad keen golfer” and, on a Friday afternoon, can be seen proudly wearing his PAC’s polo shirts on the golf course—well, it’s all about brand awareness!
Ah, Damien told us he has starred on Netflix—”you’ll have to explore the full catalogue to work it out”. Our team of detectives couldn’t find anything, so if you discover what the movie/series/documentary was, please tell us in the comment section below!
At PAC, we constantly recruit amazing people like Damien. Check our current opportunities here or send an Expression of Interest to careers@pacaerocon.com.au
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