Celebrating International Women in Engineering Day

Maggie Gilligan would love to see more female students considering a career in engineering.

As part of International Women in Engineering Day, Maggie took a moment out from her busy workload as Tasmanian Irrigation’s Dam Safety Engineer to reflect on her study, career and why she loves working in the engineering space.

“During different phases of my schooling I considering becoming an author, a journalist and then a police officer. But as I reached the end of school, I still didn’t know what I wanted to do,” Maggie said.

“I was told about maritime engineering by my sister who had just graduated as an engineer herself, so I applied to the Australian Maritime College in Launceston and was fortunate to be accepted.”

After graduating Maggie has worked as a Graduate Project Engineer at Subsea7, a Dam Compliance Officer at the City of Launceston, and a Project Engineer and now Dam Safety Engineer at Tasmanian Irrigation.

Since starting at Tasmanian Irrigation in 2023, Maggie has immersed herself in design feasibility and hydraulic modelling for the proposed Tamar Water Scheme, as well as in other new projects under construction and water delivery operations to gain an in-depth understanding of day-to-day operations and asset management. In her current role, she conducts engineering inspections and maintains the overall safety of our portfolio of 22 dams. This includes renewal of dam assets, regulatory reporting and ensuring emergency preparedness.

“Growing up in Tasmania has given me a deep appreciation for both its land and people,” she said. “I love that working for Tasmanian Irrigation means I am directly giving back to my island home, helping our irrigators, supporting local economies and enabling our agricultural industries to grow quality produce for all of us to enjoy.

“What I love most about engineering is the diversity and opportunities. You can become an industry expert in a niche topic of interest, or you can change industries to develop new skills as you grow through your career.

“If you enjoy problem solving and getting hands on with your work, then engineering could definitely be for you.”

Maggie said celebrating diversity in every industry is important.

“We humans work best as a team and the best collaboration occurs when different ideas and points of view are shared,” she said.

“In my experience, I am very rarely conscious of being the only – or one of the few – women in the room. I have been lucky to work closely with and be mentored by brilliant female engineers – and I am a better engineer for it.”