28 May 2026
It was the perfect setting and a big pinch of courage that put Gaurav Gopi on the path to an engineering role at Leed.
One of the newest site engineers in the Leed team reminisced on how it all started.
Gaurav was about to finish his university studies and was working part-time as a food and beverage attendant when opportunity appeared.
‘On that day, when I reached work, I was surprised to see that I had been rostered for a water awards event,’ he says.
‘I was in my final week of my uni and I was actively looking for work in the construction industry, especially in water-related roles. I was very clear about the direction I wanted to go in and was looking for the right guidance to get into the industry here in Australia.’
Gaurav is originally from Karnataka, in the southern part of India. He studied engineering in India and worked for 5 years in the country’s water infrastructure sector before moving to Australia in early 2024 to study a Master of Construction Management at the University of Adelaide (now Adelaide University).
About two years later, and at the end of a busy night serving tables, he stepped out of his comfort zone and took the opportunity to introduce himself to a Leed representative.
‘I asked her for advice on how to get into the water sector. She took the time to ask about my background and had a very open and positive conversation with me. That interaction gave me confidence and made me feel that my experience was valued.’
As a result, he attended more networking events in the water sector and also make further connections with Leed.
‘After that initial conversation, I followed up and stayed in touch. From there, I had the opportunity to connect further with the Leed team, and things progressed step by step into my current role.’
Gaurav recently started working with Leed as a Site Engineer and he’s been out on site helping to progress our pipeline projects, which will support thousands of new homes in Adelaide’s northern suburbs.
He says it’s taken some time to adjust to Australian systems and environment and learn new processes but he’s received a lot of support from the team along the way.
And it seems like Gaurav had this destination in mind from the start.
‘I used to keep a stress ball of the Leed hard hat on my study table, which I collected at a career expo held in early 2024, just when I joined my Master’s, thinking that I would join this company one day. And today it has come true, I wear a real hard hat with ‘Leed’ on it.’