Faheem Khalid Lodhi, 36, has pleaded not guilty to four terrorism-related charges at his NSW Supreme Court trial.
He is alleged to have committed the offences in October 2003, and came to the attention of security officials two years ago.
Crown prosecutor Richard Maidment SC told the jury that Lodhi is allegedd to have been planning to detonate a homemade bomb either at the national electricity grid or defence sites in Sydney.
He said at the time Lodhi's home was searched by federal authorities in October 2003, he may not have determined his precise target.
The jurors heard Lodhi had worked at three Sydney military sites - Holsworthy Army Barracks, Victoria Barracks and HMAS Penguin - in the course of his employment as an architect.
Outlining the crown case, Mr Maidment told the court that Lodhi's cause was "violent jihad", which could be described as "holy fighting conducted by Muslims against non-Muslims".
"The intention of the accused in his preparation for the bombing attack could only have been to influence by intimidation either governments, or members of the public, or both," Mr Maidment said.
In October 2003, Lodhi allegedly collected two maps of the Australian electricity supply system and downloaded from the internet 38 aerial photographs of Sydney military establishments, in preparation for a terrorist act.
Mr Maidment said the photographs were not required for Lodhi's work, and he is charged with allegedly intending to cause serious damage by bombing the military facilities.
Lodhi also is accused of seeking information on, and possessing a document containing information about, the manufacture of explosives, and allegedly having contact with Frenchman Willie Brigitte in 2003.
The court later heard that Mr Lodhi allegedly wrote a terrorism manual for manufacturing explosives, and inquired about chemicals capable of making home-made bombs.
The trial continues before Justice Anthony Whealy.