Bio – Mark Wicks

Background & Experience  

With a keen interest in the STEM disciplines at school, Mark’s curiosity for the mechanical world ultimately drew him towards Engineering studies at UWA.
 

Beginning his career as a graduate engineer within the rotating equipment team of a leading engineering services firm, Mark gained valuable experience collecting and working with machinery data to diagnose faults and identify improvement opportunities.
 

“Now, with RS, I’m getting great exposure to maintenance engineering, which is a really valuable and transferable skill, and I get to work with top-tier clients and to learn best practices in the industry,” he said.
 

Serendipity played a role for Mark in his transition to the world of Turbine and Rotating Equipment (RE), and after meeting the RS team before COVID, an opportunity to join the business arose. 
 

“I had met Dane Balle previously, and he’d left a really good impression,” Mark continued. 

“I knew Steve (Vajas) as well, and when he saw that I was studying online during COVID, he reached out to me, just to see how I was going.”  

“Coincidentally, I was looking for a new challenge, and an opportunity had come up at RS.”
 

“When I spoke with Steve and Dane, they mentioned a project that I could potentially implement, as they had just won a contract to develop rotating equipment maintenance strategy documentation for a processing plant in Kalgoorlie.” 

“I thought it was a great opportunity to utilise and expand upon my RE knowledge.”

So, What Makes RS A Good Workplace? 

“Both Dane and Steve left secure jobs with BHP to start up their own company, which is something I had a lot of admiration for,” Mark said.
 

“As managers, they’re both very high-performing, and they’re also very transparent in the way they run the business, which makes it a great learning opportunity.”  

Mark found the unique culture and approach to work at RS a refreshing one.  

“It’s a flat structure, and everyone is encouraged, supported and empowered to make their own decisions, think and be dynamic.”
 

“Together, we can come up with ideas for our clients and challenge the status quo; It’s a meritocracy here, and everyone respects one another.” 

What’s On the Horizon for You?  

“In the short to medium term, I’d like to keep developing my mechanical and maintenance engineering skills and my knowledge of RE,” Mark said. 

“Long term, I’d ideally love to move into a role where I can help to grow and steer the business.” 

“At the same time, I’d like to continue to develop my technical expertise and learn from others in the team.” 

“At RS, there’s a clear development pathway, which is great. I understand what I need to do to get to the next level, and that’s what I’m focussing on right now.”
 

Connect with Mark on LinkedIn.