James Helsham

Taking a passion for product design and innovation to supersonic heights.

A natural curiosity for design and innovation saw James enrol in Monash University’s Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering (Honours, 2016) and Bachelor of Commerce (2015).

Immersing himself in the Monash Faculty of Engineering community allowed James to explore Advanced Composites, Additive Manufacturing, Aircraft Materials, Aircraft Through Life Support and Aircraft Maintenance.

James’ studies culminated in his Final Year Project titled: Development of an Integrated Capability for The Through Life Support of Composite Aircraft Structural Components.

We sat down with James to hear how studying Aerospace Engineering at Monash has shaped his career outlook and strong connection to the Engineering community. And, of course, to learn more about current role as Aerospace Engineer at HeliMods Pty Ltd, the internationally renowned aerospace technology company.

Are there any notable experiences from your time at Monash you’d like to share?

My most notable experiences during my time at Monash were taking up the opportunities to spend a semester abroad in Canada and a year in industry at Holden. The technical proficiency built through the direct engineering and commerce coursework was fantastic to put me in a great place to succeed in life after uni but the semester abroad and year in industry were fun and fruitful times that gave me some life skills and soft skills to round it all out. I wouldn't recommend rushing through university and missing out on what there is on offer.

If you could tell your graduate self one piece of career advice what would it be and why?

Do your industry research and have faith in the Australian aerospace industry and advanced manufacturing in general. As I was nearing completion of my undergraduate, the outlook on Australian manufacturing wasn’t fantastic and a majority of jobs were in aerospace maintenance and sustainment as opposed to green fields design and manufacturing. This resulted in me questioning whether I had picked the right course for my future. What I didn’t know at the time is that the industry was in the middle of a transformation where aerospace design and manufacturing was transitioning to maximise the use of advanced technologies and some Australian design firms were at the centre of it globally. Fast forward to now, those who are preparing for graduation should be excited by what opportunities lie ahead in Australia that involve high-value technologies and room to be creative in a engineering role.

What are the top 3 skills you need to succeed in the aerospace products and technology space?

At a minimum you'll need the technical abilities to problem solve. To be successful, you'll need to surround this foundation with open mindedness, inventiveness and accountability.

Open-mindedness will allow you to question the norm, be receptive to new ideas/concepts and to weigh all options up with an unbiased and fair view. It is a great attribute to have in conceptual design when technology is continually evolving around you and you are surrounded by people with experience.

Inventiveness is another attribute which can help with the divergent thinking needed to develop new products that do not yet exist. Being able to use fundamentals of structures, mechanisms, form design and industry experiences together to generate a single, considered concept requires inventive thinking.

Accountability is paramount to the product's success and overall performance. There comes a time when the project demands a product's development to converge to a single solution that can be manufactured, certified and delivered. You'll be trusted with a lot in this industry and self-accountability will ensure that you are able to deliver a fantastic product and succeed in your own work.

Tell us about your experience since leaving Monash: how has your career progressed to date? Any professional achievements you’d like to share

In my first few months from leaving Monash, I was tasked with designing and certifying modifications to airframe which were novel and not yet achieved by industry. This piqued my interest in the design development space, specialising in structural problems, and I later progressed to the HeliMods’ global product range which involved end-to- end design of the world-first, patented Powered Aero Loader® with the HeliMods team. Other design development items include products for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and Policing clients around the globe, which has afforded me the opportunity to travel extensively to other countries.

I am now working as technical lead on current and future engineering work with Ornge Air Ambulance, a global leader in EMS services, and program lead on a future fixed wing EMS aircraft. One of the best parts of my job is hearing that these products are enhancing people’s ways of working and also helping to save lives around the world, which has been incredibly rewarding. Equally rewarding is working with newly graduate engineers and supporting them to achieve the same experiences that I enjoyed.

How has your technical and operational experience assisted you in your executive roles?

Understanding the principles of physics, structural analysis and mechanisms especially has allowed me to quickly identify what is in the art of the possible when it comes to new design opportunities. The technical knowledge built through university and applied through direct design work adds to the experience required to determine whether a customer's request is feasible (or decide just how much effort will be involved to achieve the impossible!). Adding the technical knowledge gained through the Commerce side of the double degree certainly helped to bring my head up from the technical details at times and look more at the big picture.

What are some of your passions and interests?

I'm lucky that the work I do day to day is interesting and is a passion of mine. Calling work a passion helps with my overall happiness and therefore finding a place that can support your interests is crucial for any graduate. I like to test new technologies (such as 3D printing or topology optimisation) in practical applications and see what performance benefits can be found.

Outside of that, for me it is spending time with friends and family, exercising, playing basketball and travelling. Being able to use downtime effectively and completely switching off over a couple of beers with friends is about as good as it gets.

Find out more about Aerospace Engineering - https://www.monash.edu/engineering/future-students/undergraduate-study/specialisations/aerospace