Alumni series: Flexibility & stability brought Steve Purcival back to Leidos

‘Change is as good as a holiday’ as they say and for Steve Purcival, a holiday created the opportunity for an amazing career change.

Steve begun his career in the military. After 12.5 years of service, seeking a change, he made a trip to Canberra in 2020 and came across the opportunity to apply for a role with Leidos - lucky for us, he won the role!

The key things he liked about Leidos, when choosing to join the business, were the type of work we do and alignment to defence/military that he was familiar with. He came across a few ex-army people when researching Leidos and felt it would be a soft landing and logical next move after over a decade with the military. An added bonus was our benefits that he was entitled to as a Reservist.

After a couple of years with us, Steve was itching for another change. He came across an opportunity (outside of Leidos) where he could project manage land remediation in digging up EUDs, a connection back into his past military life.

A few months into this role, Steve returned to Leidos as he recognised that whilst the role was interesting, Leidos provided more stability which was important to him and his growing family. Leidos being a Family Friendly workplace, aligned to his need for flexibility - earlier start times and a focus on getting outputs, not time at desks.

Steve has a very positive outlook on life and ensures what and who he surrounds himself with is always positive. “Focus on what you can change and work toward a common goal without the drama”, he applies this philosophy at home and at work as the Training Manager for Land2110.

He enjoys the routine he inevitably developed during his time in military which includes 5:30 a.m. gym sessions, and loves walking his dog Dutch and tinkering on the computer.

We enjoy hiring ex-military personnel and having them build their careers within Leidos where they can still do important work and support the country through the work we do. In Steve’s case, it was the change he was looking to make. Now he's off to Singapore and Japan for some holidaying.