Changing technologies
OPPORTUNITIES FOR SYSTEMS ENGINEERS

Systems engineers: bringing it all together

Holding different titles in different companies, systems engineers add the benefit of integration, which is invaluable in many industries

"I think systems engineering is a thriving area." Valerie Gundrum

By Claire Swedberg
Contributing Editor

Ann Zhang, a computer and telecom engineer, is the only female systems engineer in Symantec's Beijing office.

Vinitha Seevaratnam, an applications engineer at Mentor Graphics, has a BSEE with an emphasis on computer design.

Systems engineers have been around for decades and maybe even longer: think about the organizational work implicit in the building of the ancient pyramids, the Taj Mahal and the great cathedrals of Europe. Today there is renewed urgency in engineering integration, and much of it is coming from the government.

Most notably, the military has a growing focus on systems engineering and what it can do for project management. "Especially in the military, there is an incredible emphasis in applying systems engineering principles," says Valerie Gundrum. "The military is trying to reinvigorate something that was always there to some degree."

Gundrum is a member of the communications committee of the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE). She's also a systems engineer herself at Lockheed Martin Systems Integration (Owego, NY).

Systems engineers are seeing the big picture in more ways than ever, both in the U.S. and internationally. The systems engineers we spoke to have widely varying interests and skill sets. They hold different titles and different jobs in different companies, but they share a strong focus on integration.

Vinitha Seevaratnam: apps engineer at Mentor Graphics
Her design background is a real asset for Vinitha Seevaratnam, who is an applications engineer at Mentor Graphics (Wilsonville, OR). She earned her BSEE, with an emphasis on computer design and an interest in design architecture, at the University of Washington-Seattle.

When she graduated in 1998 she went to work as a design engineer at Tektronix (Beaverton, OR). She worked in the video and network division as a circuit-board design engineer, taking products from concept to production.

Each project included design implementation and reviews, developing PL code and working with PCB designers. She worked with manufacturing on the cost and fabrication process. Then, when the board came back, she got involved in testing for signal quality, programming parts and checking the functionality of each process on the board. By the end of her stay at Tektronix, she was in charge of a group developing the circuit boards.

In 2004 she joined Mentor Graphics, where she uses many of the skills she honed at Tektronix. Mentor is an electronic design automation company, providing software, hardware and consulting services to companies that develop electronic products.

It's Seevaratnam's job to help customers who have purchased the company's software put it to use. She gets tools up and running, locates glitches and brings them to the attention of product managers. She also looks for ways to enhance products.

"I wanted to leverage my design career to help customers and bring out new concepts," she says.

Seevaratnam, born in Sri Lanka, notes that many colleagues at Mentor come from diverse cultural backgrounds. That variety, she believes, is part of Mentor's success.

Eric Rowland: re-engineering at FedEx

Eric Rowland

Eric Rowland is a development engineer in the department of operation technology and systems support at the Pittsburgh, PA office of FedEx Ground. He completed his BS in industrial engineering at the University of Pittsburgh in 2002 and went straight to work for FedEx, where he had already interned.

For the first year he helped re-engineer a sort-to-voice system, testing the system and writing software code. After a year Rowland was promoted to development engineer 2 and given responsibility for several projects.

As project lead, he's responsible for everything from concept to production. That, he says, includes overseeing approvals for funding, working with vendors, testing, rolling out plans for use and training operators, even providing the invoicing.

Most recently he completed a project to re-engineer "on van" computers that help drivers track package movement. The idea was to lower costs and equipment maintenance by miniaturizing the system.

Rowland notes that communication skills are important assets on the job. "A lot of the work is writing and putting together proposals," he says, and that kind of involvement only increases as you rise in the firm.

Keno Saavedra is a systems analyst at FedEx

Keno Saavedra

Keno Saavedra also works at FedEx Ground. He's a systems analyst in the IT department.

Saavedra earned his 1989 BSCS at Lock Haven (PA) University and went to work for Compunetix (Monroeville, PA), a small computer company that makes multipoint control units (MCUs) for multi-media teleconferencing.

He started out as a computer operator and advanced to programmer/operator. In 1995 he became a programmer, responsible for computer ops, training and supervising, as well as network admin and PC support duties.

There was only so far he could go with the small company, so in 1999 he moved to the much larger FedEx Ground. He was a programmer/analyst, writing programs based on specs from other programmer/analysts.

Two years later he became a systems analyst. Now he's leading projects to support the needs of department managers. "People say what they want and I write it," he says.

He also works with programmers, communicates with end users and makes sure that projects meet their deadlines. He was, for example, software development lead for an "addscan" project which lets the company add more locations to its Internet tracking system to pinpoint where a package is.

Saavedra generally works on four projects at a time, coordinating with the application development group. One of the folks he coordinates with is development engineer Eric Rowland. "We rely on Keno's group to tell us what they can and can't do, and we consider that in our big-picture design," Rowland notes.

Like Rowland, Saavedra sees the growing importance of communication skills. As he advances in his career, "Programming becomes less and communication becomes more. You still need logic but there's less science and math," he says.

FedEx offers him room to grow beyond his actual job description. He goes on recruiting trips looking for likely programmers. Right now he's especially keen to talk with folks with Report Program Generator (RPG) experience. "I would advise anyone to learn as many programming languages as possible," he says.

Beth Pasztor: systems integrator for Boeing's Dreamliner

Beth Pasztor

Beth Pasztor is involved in systems integration validation process implementation for the 7E7 Dreamliner program of Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA, Everett, WA).

She began her career at BCA in 1985, the year she graduated from the University of Iowa with a BSEE. She interviewed across the country, she remembers, and found Boeing. "The appeal of airplanes was very exciting," she says, and so was the company's location in the beautiful Puget Sound area.

Pasztor joined Boeing's autopilot group as a principal engineer. Her team focused on suppliers of hardware and software for automatic flight control for the 747. Over the years she shifted that focus to the 767 and then the 757.

In 1989 she became a lead engineer, working on the central maintenance computer for the 747-400. She became closely involved with the end users and was often on the road visiting airline customers, seeing how they were employing the equipment and determining ways it could be improved.

Three years later Pasztor joined the 777 program in flight controls. As a lead engineer on the maintenance integration team, she could draw from her experience with maintenance as well as work with customers and suppliers.

The process-related issues, though, were new to her. "I was taking on a more focused role in processing," she says, and she had to learn the language related to it.

In 1996 Pasztor took a maternity leave. She returned to work later the same year as a manager in flight controls. Now she was leading a team involved in the mechanical side of the business, when her previous experience was mainly electrical.

"The really neat thing is learning to rely on your technical leads," she says. They handle the details, leaving her free to concentrate on program interface.

In 1998 her role evolved to include flight control for the 777, and in 2003 she took on her current role in integration for the 7E7 Dreamliner program.

As an integrator, she leads the systems team to support deliverables. One of her vital duties is connecting everyone involved in flight control in order to complete the project at hand.

She sees systems integration as standing on a foundation of communication, listening and project management. "The tough part is knowing what questions to ask to draw out the right information," she says. Appropriately, "Boeing has an environment that encourages feedback."

Nina Solano: model leader at GE Aircraft Engines

Nina Solano

Nina Solano graduated from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University in 1996 and finished an MSME in 2003. She's currently pursuing an executive MBA at the University of Notre Dame (IN) and hopes to complete it this year. She started work in Research Triangle, NC with IBM (Armonk, NY) as a design engineer responsible for introducing new technologies into the PC desktop and mini-tower systems.

In 1999 she moved to GE Aircraft Engines (Cincinnati, OH) as a control systems engineer. She was leading the software introduction for the A380/GP7000 program. "I joined the performance engineering group in order to move closer to the functions that I enjoyed, developing new engine designs," she says.

In 2004 she took on her current role as CFM56-5C model leader in the engine systems group. She leads engineering investigations, maintaining fleet reliability and interfacing with customers.

"My career path consists of various design roles with increasing responsibilities," she says. "The best engineering leaders are those who are able to communicate, lead and drive innovation."

Lucy Hsu is a software program manager at Nvidia

Lucy Hsu

Lucy Hsu brings more than twenty years of development experience to her job as a software program manager at Nvidia. She received her BSEE from the University of California-Berkeley in 1980 and joined Watkins Johnson (Palo Alto, CA), a defense electronics company, as a software developer.

Over the years she held various positions in software management. She completed an MSEE in 1990 at Santa Clara University (Santa Clara, CA).

In 2001 she moved to Nvidia. Nvidia makes integrated circuits and Hsu works as a program manager in the software engineering group. "When customers buy our chips they expect a certain functionality," she says. "My role is to make sure the software is customized."

To do this, she coordinates with the development group, QA group and support organization, as well as marketing and sales staff. Her most important skill for the work, she says, is diplomacy.

Because Nvidia is a matrix-style company, Hsu does not actually supervise anyone. "Since none of them report to me, I have to use my influence skills," she says.

Sonal Deshpande manages programs at Northrop Grumman

Sonal Deshpande

Sonal Deshpande is a program manager at Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems (Baltimore, MD). She received her BSEE in 1986 from the University of Maryland-College Park and an MSEE from Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD) in 1992.

Once she earned her BS she went to work for Westinghouse Electric, which became part of Northrop Grumman. She participated in its professional development program. This in-house rotation provided her with a series of short assignments to show her various career options. "For a year I worked on projects in systems engineering, software engineering and hardware design," she remembers.

She chose hardware design for her career track. She became a digital designer, developing module and circuit level hardware designs, software coding, simulations and tests.

By 1995 she was working for Northrop Grumman as integrated product team lead and functional manager. She was responsible for directing the efforts of design engineers and supporting staffing and resource allocations.

Three years later she was promoted to engineering manager for the RAH-66 Comanche helicopter program, a subcontract from Boeing and the U.S. Army. She provided overall technical leadership for the program and was responsible for all program engineering requirements. Eventually she became the programs manager for Comanche, with responsibility for the aircraft's mission computer, targeting software and radar components.

Today she's deputy programs director for the U.S. Air Force B-1B bomber AN/APQ-164 radar programs. Her projects involve design, development, manufacturing, test and delivery of hardware and software products. "I have overall project management responsibility for major government contracts, including cost, schedule and technical performance," she says. She supports program planning and execution and provides program, business and technical leadership to a team of engineers and support personnel.

"Strong technical knowledge is always key," Deshpande says, but almost as important are communication and interpersonal skills. "To stand above the average, you have to be both self-motivated and a team player."

At Symantec, Ann Zhang is Beijing systems engineer

Ann Zhang

Symantec is a leader in client, server, gateway and Internet security. The company actively recruits engineers in the U.S. and at its offices in Paris, France and Beijing, China. Ann Zhang is the only female systems engineer in the Beijing office.

She earned her 1997 BS in computer and telecom engineering at Chang Chun University in China. Her first job was with the Beijing Telecom Administration (BTA), where she did telecom-scale network maintenance and tuning, project management, key application server maintenance and more.

BTA is the biggest provider of Internet (which is called Chinanet) service in China, and its many sub- bureaus provide various telecom services throughout the nation. "I was working at the data communication bureau, the one that looks after Internet backbone/access to Chinese clients," Zhang says.

In 2001 she joined Symantec as a systems engineer in the Beijing office. She's responsible for pre-sale tech support, on-site product evaluations, proposals for customers, technical training for partners, resellers and customers, supporting Symantec China marketing and more. She also gets to make speeches, appear at seminars and write newsletters. "Symantec products are developed in English, so the work requires a high level of technical understanding combined with very good English language skills," she notes.

Her biggest challenge at Symantec, she says, was making a transition from working with customers to working with vendors. "But I got through it very well. Looking back over seven years in IT, I am happy with my great career path," she says.

"Technical skill is the number one factor for software engineering, but you must also be prepared and willing to adapt yourself to customer needs."

D/C  

Claire Swedberg is a freelance writer who lives in La Conner, WA.

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