What 14 Years in Engineering Taught Me: From Power to Tunnels to Autonomy

After 14 years in engineering — across power, tunnels, roadways, and now autonomy — I'm taking a moment to reflect.

Today marks the end of my time with Transurban and the start of a new chapter. As I did after my first 8 years in industry (read that artic

le here), I’m continuing the tradition — sharing what I’ve learned, what I’ve seen change, and where I believe we’re heading.

1. Engineering changes how you see the world

When you work in transport, power systems, or infrastructure, you start to notice details others don’t. A tunnel isn't just concrete — it's ventilation logic, escape pathing, SCADA, backup power, detection systems, and a thousand interdependent rules working silently.

You don't just drive on a road. You read it.

We see under the hood of society — not metaphorically, but literally. Once you understand what makes systems tick, you never unsee it.

2. Behind everything working smoothly are brilliant people solving complex problems

From resolving milliseconds of control latency in a tunnel to coordinating redundancy across substations, I've seen incredible engineers find elegant solutions to very niche but very real challenges — all so people can simply get home safely, packages arrive on time, and life continues without interruption.

That’s the hidden beauty of this career: your work exists in silence. Because when it's loud, it usually means something went wrong.

3. Safety and innovation can coexist — but it's an art

One of the greatest challenges in my later career was integrating traditionally conservative, safety-critical systems with the agile, evolving world of AI and autonomy.

We live in a time where infrastructure isn't just passive anymore. Roads are becoming intelligent, data is flowing in real-time, and systems are making decisions at the edge. I’ve led trials where smart infrastructure actively communicates with autonomous vehicles — where control systems meet autonomy, and legacy meets machine learning.

Bringing these together isn’t just a technical problem. It’s a design, governance, risk, and cultural challenge — and it’s where the future lies.

4. We’re entering the age of intelligent infrastructure

The next generation of infrastructure won't just be “built to last” — it’ll be built to learn, adapt, and collaborate.

This means:

• Real-time communication with autonomous vehicles

• Infrastructure that provides advisory data in dynamic conditions

• Systems designed not just for robustness, but for responsiveness

I’ve been fortunate to work at this frontier — designing and delivering infrastructure that interacts directly with AVs in real time. This isn’t just concept work. It’s real, and it’s happening now.

5. Growth lives in discomfort

Some of the most pivotal moments in my career were not the smooth projects — they were the 3AM incident calls, the trial failures, the designs that had to be ripped up and started again. These moments shaped how I problem-solve, lead, and think under pressure.

Lean into those. That’s where the value lives.

6. Purpose matters more than job titles

Whether I was delivering energy infrastructure or designing autonomous systems, the unifying thread was purpose. If your work protects lives, improves efficiency, or helps society move safely — you will never feel disconnected from its value.

That, more than anything, has kept me sharp and motivated all these years.

What’s next?

As I step into my next chapter, I’ll still be publishing through Engineering IRL, continuing to build tools and books for engineers — and staying at the intersection of autonomy, infrastructure, and real-world problem solving.

To those I’ve worked with — thank you. Not for the company name or the project names, but for your ideas, your challenges, your standards, and your shared pursuit of better systems.

Here’s to the next 14.

— Andrew