What's your job about?
CSL Behring is a leading biotechnology company that makes life-saving biotherapies. I am a process engineer in the Utilities Department which means that I look after multiple plants such as water, gas, chemicals and HVAC which support our manufacturing process. My work can be anything from ensuring that there is cold and hot water when the taps are turned on to maintaining differential pressure gradient in our manufacturing spaces to ensuring waste is properly treated before it leaves our facilities. It takes a lot to make sure a plant is continually, reliably running so preventative maintenance is also another big aspect of the work I do. When things happen unexpectedly, our teams work around the clock with other departments like the mechanical, electrical trades and quality to make sure it gets fixed and it doesn’t happen again. For larger projects we also collaborate with the project engineers to improve our processes. If manufacturing was like baking a cake, we would be the fairies in the background making sure the oven, tap and refrigerator work for you to store your ingredients and make the cake! My job is done right when you don’t notice that we are here.
What's your background?
I grew up on the other side of the pond in New Zealand and completed all my primary and secondary schooling there. Being someone that has had loved ones personally affected by immunodeficiencies and seeing the severe reduction in quality of life due to these conditions, I was passionate about helping as many people as I could through a healthcare perspective. I wanted to be able to not just let someone survive but have them able to truly live and experience life. Further, coming from a family of female engineers, I also wanted to be able to think and problem solve like an engineer. This forged my path to combine my biomedical and engineering skills to be able to be in a position to help facilitate this. I recognised that Australia has a lot of healthcare R&D and manufacturing and decided to move over to further develop my skills and completed my tertiary studies at the University of Melbourne. I am incredibly lucky to have been offered the opportunity to stay on in CSL Behring after my graduate program and have been with my current team for just under 4 months.
Could someone with a different background do your job?
I definitely think someone can do my job with a different background. As long as you are keen to learn, love problem-solving, innovating and thrive under some pressurised situations, the Utilities team would be perfect for you. If you are good at multi-tasking and juggling multiple projects and priorities, the challenge of working in this space will be very exciting. No matter what the day throws at us, the bond we have as a department can help us get through anything.
What's the coolest thing about your job?
The coolest thing about my job is the fast-paced environment and the collaboration we have to complete our tasks. Whilst most of the time everything is working perfectly, one of my favourite tasks is when something does go wrong how we can solve it safely and reliably. We know we are doing the right thing when no one gets hurt, the plants run smoothly and our biotherapies can be safely created.
What are the limitations of your job?
As utilities need to be running all year round, you will sometimes have to work weekends or public holidays. Sometimes you will have to climb up to quite high or narrow or chemically/electrically dangerous locations which can be scary. However, there is the whole team to support you and you will be comprehensively trained on any hazardous areas that you may need to go to.
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