In a new recurring feature tracking the paths of influential engineers, Allison Selman outlines her rise to the top in subsea engineering.
Working at the bottom of the ocean has helped propel the career of Allison Selman FIEAust CPEng to great heights. She was recently appointed the Managing Director of Atteris, an engineering consultancy working across subsea, pipeline and renewable energy assets.
“Becoming a director was not something I necessarily thought possible,” Selman told create. “My industry is extremely male-dominated, and there aren’t many women who operate at a director’s level. I certainly didn’t plan for it to happen this way.”
Since 2013, Selman has worked for Atteris in an asset integrity and engineering function, ensuring that equipment runs the way it should and faults are anticipated before they happen, to minimise risk.
She is also the founder of Women In Subsea Engineering (WISE), a non-profit working to improve gender diversity and inclusion in the offshore industry, and the head of ocean videography company Glass Bottom Films.
“I enjoy working for small companies with a family-like environment,” she said. “You get to work very closely, very cohesively with employees. Larger companies can be quite impersonal and competitive, and you sometimes find yourself in situations that don’t align with your values.”
Moments of truth
Rather than taking a predetermined path to her current work, Selman has worked across as many different companies as possible to broaden her experience.
“Before joining Atteris, I played around to find out where my strengths were,” she said. “I never stayed for more than three or four years at a single business – long enough to develop a feel for how things operate.”
A key turning point was electing to move overseas to take on a secondment role as a senior integrity engineer at BP Indonesia, a role that took her to Jakarta, where she stayed for three years.
“No-one else wanted to put their hand up,” Selman recalled. “But I did, as a young engineer, and it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made because I got to learn about setting up an engineering office, growing a team, training and onboarding new staff, and more.
“I’m still in touch with my manager at the time, who really sparked my interest in the business side of engineering.”
Selman’s background in commerce, marketing and management put her in good stead to step up. But she admits facing down demons all the same.
“So many of the managers in this industry are of the alpha male personality type,” she said. “When I first nominated myself for the Managing Director position at Atteris, I kept comparing myself to these people – and even considered not nominating at all.
“I faced some pushback from people who said I didn’t have the right attributes. But who says one person’s attributes are better suited to a role than another’s?”
To address doubts both internal and external, she completed a company directors course via the Australian Institute of Company Directors, enrolled in the Women in Leadership Development (WILD) Board X Program, and participated in governance and leadership training via the Engineers Australia College of Leadership and Management program.
“Through programs such as these, I’ve had the privilege of learning about how boards should be run, and connected with other leaders who have different management styles. And in terms of my own style, I lean heavily towards collaboration and teamwork.”
“They thought I was mad”
A natural extension upon Selman’s professional grounding was becoming Chartered with Engineers Australia, which she described as an easy decision.
“As a female engineer working overseas, I lacked an established network and all I could fall back on were my credentials,” she said. “When I was younger, people would often see me walk into a meeting and they’d assume I was a secretary or the coffee lady.
“Becoming a Fellow of Engineers Australia, too, was a decision I made from a leadership perspective. I did it to represent and encourage other women to step up and be recognised for their achievements. That is still an area we struggle with.”
That struggle, however, normally ends up paying dividends.
“When I started working for Atteris – a medium-sized company rather than a large international firm – everyone thought I was mad,” Selman laughed. “But I wanted to follow my personal preferences and make a difference. It’s about what keeps you energised, because it’s a completely different feeling when you enjoy going to work and the people you see each day.”
