Inside job: Katie Gotlieb

I describe my role to non-engineers as… leading Farra’s Building Maintenance Units (BMUs) projects through tendering, design, in-house manufacture, and site installation and commissioning. BMUs are basically big cranes, permanently installed on high-rise buildings. We focus on bespoke projects, so I’ve managed little 20T BMUs with 13m outreaches, through to a 50T BMU with a 35m outreach that launches out of a hatched dome at the peak of one of Sydney’s newest high-rise buildings.

The part of my job that always surprises people is… how much project engineering relies on relationship management.

The best emoji to sum up me on a typical workday is…

The best thing I’ve introduced at my workplace is… helping to clear the way for the people working on the floor to work much more closely with the design team – their knowledge is invaluable and their input from the get-go increases efficiencies immensely.

In my role, I always challenge… whether something is a “world is ending right this second emergency” or should we take a deep breath and prioritise? Commercial high-rise construction in Australia is a high-stakes game, and problems can quickly snowball if you don’t stay grounded.

At work, I’ve never been afraid to… ask questions and admit if I don’t know the answer. Do it right and it’s one of the best ways to gain respect.

In the past year, I’ve pushed boundaries by… supporting our priority to go back to the basics. It’s easy as an engineer to get caught up in “novel engineering solutions”, but at the end of the day we invented the wheel for a reason.

I admire engineers who… have the guts to say no in high-stakes environments. It’s tough to hold your ground when everyone is screaming to just sign off something, but quality design, and health and safety always come first, no matter the cost.

At school, teachers always described me as… “needs to be kept engaged”, “strong-willed” and a “self-starter”. In other words, a bit of a pain but a high achiever when I was interested in the work.

My luckiest break was… having Farra sponsor my final-year project at university, which resulted in an awesome job.

The bravest thing I’ve done to get where I am today… taking on so much project management responsibility so quickly. It’s been a rollercoaster, but I got 10 years’ worth of experience in just over two years, and it contributed to my recognition as Runner-up for Steel Construction NZ’s 2024 Young Achiever of the Year.

Best career advice I’ve received… learn the balance between keeping the customer happy and being a pushover.

I’d advise other people interested in my type of role to… get comfortable with technical writing and public speaking. If you can’t communicate it clearly, it won’t happen.

3 things I love about my job

• Getting to build a career in such a niche and interesting specialisation.
• Every job is different in terms of the client requirements, design components and challenges – it keeps me on my toes.
• Working in a global market is awesome in terms of international experience and travel.

2 reasons why I chose to study engineering

• I’ve always been at my best when I’m solving complex problems and getting to nut things out both at a high level and down to the details. Plus, engineering is very much rooted in the fundamentals – if it defies the laws of physics, you’ve probably done something wrong!
• Mechanical engineering is such a vast field – it’d be impossible to run out of things to learn and experience.

1 thing I wouldn’t change about my workday

The people. From the people on the floor to our client teams, everyone keeps it fun.

This article was first published in the March 2025 issue of EG magazine.