Biography
After earning his electronics engineering degree from UniSA, he worked as a design engineer in the UK telecommunications sector and completed an MSc in programmable electronics at the University of Kent. Following his return to Australia, he worked in the defence and electronic security industries for a number of years. During his industry period, he worked on the design of 13 products and systems that entered production and service. The highlight of this period was his time as the Starlab Project Engineer during which he led a team of engineers in the development of the electronics subsystem of a UV space telescope; a project that introduced Stephen to traditional systems engineering and ignited his passion for the discipline.
He joined Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) as a Principal Engineer in 1988. His leadership at DSTO resulted in two patents and a commercial product that advanced defence communications capabilities, earning him the Secretary’s Award for Achievement. He rose to Senior Principal Research Scientist, leading a team of around 70 staff, while also consulting on major defence communications projects. During this time, he earned a Graduate Diploma in Electronic Systems from UniSA and a PhD in knowledge-based requirements generation from City, University of London.
After his impactful tenure at DSTO, Stephen transitioned to academia to become the DSTO Professor of Systems Engineering at UniSA where he led the establishment of the Defence and Systems Institute. His leadership fostered growth to over 60 staff that taught four master programs in SE and related disciplines and undertook industry-funded research in the architectural design and acquisition of complex systems of systems, system safety modelling, systems engineering tool research, acquisition process evolution, and workforce development.
In 2014, Stephen became a senior principal systems engineer with Shoal where he provides support to large capital equipment projects such as ships, communications networks, and C4ISR systems. He also engages in company research projects in the development of new systems engineering methods and tools as well as a range of client tasks. Additionally, he has undertaken several research contracts for Defence focussed on systems of systems integration and innovative military communications networks. His work at Shoal has led to numerous significant publications. In recent years, he has also spent periods supporting prime contractors in developing their systems engineering capability.
In addition to his role at Shoal, Stephen is the part-time Professor of Defence Systems at the University of Adelaide. In this role, he teaches systems theory and systems engineering courses and supervises research students in systems engineering, complex project management, system theory, and systems modelling and simulation.
Stephen has authored over 200 refereed publications and 100 client reports and has been elected a Fellow of both the Institution of Engineering and Technology (UK) and Engineers Australia. Recognised as an INCOSE Fellow, he has actively contributed to working groups, served on committees, and received numerous honours, including an INCOSE Outstanding Service Award and life membership of the Systems Engineering Society of Australia (SESA). He has been awarded Membership of the Omega Alpha Association international honour society in systems engineering.
Stephen’s additional service to the profession includes many years on the SESA board including a term as President, his appointment as a board member of the INCOSE Foundation since its inception in 2005, and his service as a member of the IET Professional Network in Systems Engineering Executive Committee. He has been involved in organising around 20 conferences.
Beyond his professional work, Stephen has been active in community organisations in his roles as President of the East Adelaide Table Tennis Club and Vice President and Life Member of Skate South Australia.
Stephen is in good health and physically fit and he competes at national level in inline speed roller skating. He is also a keen table tennis player and plays in the middle grades in the Adelaide metropolitan competition.
Vision
INCOSE’s stated mission is to foster system engineering knowledge exchange, application, education, and research. Furthermore, INCOSE is dedicated to being the world’s trusted authority and forum for the practice, science, and art of systems engineering. These are worthy and important missions which I fully endorse.
The INCOSE vision is to unite and advance the global systems community and over the 26 years I have been an INCOSE member. I have seen some great evidence of progress towards this goal. I will work to pursue the INCOSE vision and the inspirational INCOSE Vision 2035. I believe that the time has come for INCOSE to more fully embrace the worldview of the Fellows that fully appreciates that there are a myriad of socio-technical systems approaches that can inform our practice.
We need to make INCOSE more attractive to systems practitioners who do not normally join INCOSE or attend our events; this would be one strategy to expand the systems engineering community and grow INCOSE. This could be done by running sessions or events in conjunction with other systems societies across the sociotechnical spectrum.
My design engineering background has galvanised my view that good design, particularly architectural design, is the key to successful systems engineering practice for increasingly complex socio-technical challenges. Thus, I believe that a greater emphasis on design practice, grounded in systems thinking, would benefit the INCOSE community.
INCOSE is an international professional society which already has chapters in 31 countries. I want to see this number increase particularly in Sector III. While at UniSA, I was active for many years with SE leaders from the Asia Pacific. The events we organised opened my eyes to different worldviews and different, and often better, approaches for achieving systems engineering outcomes. I will put my support behind the expansion of INCOSE in Sector III and look forward to harmonising additional perspectives with established SE practices.
IS 2025 was bristling with emerging trends. For example, the ability of AI to transform SE practice is upon us and it will accelerate the digital transformation. INCOSE needs to be at the forefront of these trends and determine how best to prepare our membership for future practice. I am a very strong advocate for life-long learning and fully believe in part-time study to not only obtain higher degrees but also for continuing professional development. Already INCOSE events and webinars provide an effective means to deliver the wisdom of thought leaders to the membership. I will explore what more INCOSE should do in this area. I endorse System Engineering Professional certification and the Academic Equivalence program with universities.
My combined experience across industry, defence research, academia, and consulting give me a holistic perspective that enables me to bridge gaps between sectors and foster innovative organisational solutions for INCOSE. My experience in executive and volunteer leadership roles will enable me to ensure the solid governance of INCOSE.
I am passionate about systems engineering and believe strongly in the value to society of elevating the profession’s visibility, credibility, and voice within the community. I will work to have systems engineering widely recognised as an essential discipline in successfully addressing all complex socio-technical challenges.