Kathleen Smith 00:45
Hello podcast listeners. Welcome back to another episode of Security Cleared Jobs: Who's Hiring & How. We have another great guest queued up today, and here to help me welcome my guest is my always exciting, witty, and beautiful co-host, Rachel.
Rachel Bozeman 01:03
Oh stop, but keep going. Keep going. Tell us more, Kathleen. So I'm gonna do my best to live up to all that hype. No pressure at all. It's gonna be great. But tell us, who is our guest today, Kathleen?
Kathleen Smith 01:13
Today's guest is Kelly Newman, Senior Engineering Manager at General Dynamics Mission Systems. Kelly, welcome to the show today.
Kelly Newman 01:21
Thank you. Glad to be here.
Rachel Bozeman 01:23
Well, we are glad you're here too, Kelly. And something we'd like to start with is to kind of tell us about your career journey. I know you've worn many different hats there at General Dynamics, but would love to hear, how did you land there? And what have you done since you landed there?
Kelly Newman 01:37
I started here as a junior engineer 28 years ago. So worked my way up the ladder relative to being a design engineer, working in the product-based business. When I say products, transceivers, transponders, things of that nature in the civil area. Then I transitioned into what was called project leading at that time. Now it's called deputy program manager of engineering, DPME. So I transitioned from a design role, hands-on, into more of a leadership role, and then got an opportunity to take on some program management roles. And I did that for roughly 10 years, and then got the tap on the shoulder to lead this Space Development Agency engineering effort, if you will, overseeing the engineering team for GD and SDA. A short synopsis, but yes.
Kathleen Smith 02:22
Well, those of us who've been in the industry for a quarter of a century or more, like myself, it's sometimes hard to encapsulate exactly all the things that we've done. And I've known of GD Mission Systems for decades. And I know that it's involved with many domains: land, sea, air, space, and cyber. I understand that you support one particular contract with the Space Development Agency. So where does your work with the Space Development Agency fall within the purview of GD Mission Systems, and what work does it do to support the cleared community?
Kelly Newman 03:03
So the Space Development Agency is contained within GDMS. We were awarded a contract in May of 2022 to be the prime for the ground element, the ground system, for the SDA. What that means though, is that we work with all of the ground elements, our partners – we are partnered with another company called Iridium, and other subs within the program in itself. And then how that flows up to the SDA is we're the glue that binds the ONI centers, that binds the operational system together. So the customer, SDA looks to us GDMS as the prime and the purveyor of ensuring that we're meeting all of our requirements as it relates to that. And that's why we're out hiring, because we're growing, we're expanding.
Rachel Bozeman 03:51
Well, I want to touch on that, so the hiring part of it. I love that you're the glue. And I know we have some friends out there that would also like to be part of the glue of the organization. So what type of security-cleared positions are you currently hiring for?
Kelly Newman 04:04
Many. I mean, there's a large portion of what we do that can be done in an open environment, we call controlled unclassified information, called CUI, right? But we do have aspects of the program, and I look for people that have secret DoD clearances, because there's many of those out there, but we also have some positions where we need a TS clearance, Top Secret. And SDA has its own SCI compartmentalization that we have folks cleared for. So there's multiple levels of clearances that we're looking for.
Rachel Bozeman 04:35
And so the next question, you know it's coming. Where are these positions located?
Kelly Newman 04:39
What I typically do, especially with folks that we're looking for that are cleared – having them close to a GDMS site is advantageous. So obviously Scottsdale is one area that we're most populated at. So most of the team is located here in the Scottsdale, Arizona area. We've got two sites on this campus right now that we're expanding in. Also, additional sites are in Pittsburgh, Massachusetts, Virginia. So I look for people that are close to sites where they can actually get into a SCIF and do some cleared work, right? So that's important. But that being said, we have a lot of people on the team that are very diverse across the continental United States that can support us. As I stated, there's a lot of our work that can be done in a controlled, unclassified environment that doesn't need to be in a SCIF.
Kathleen Smith 05:23
And that really opens up to the next question, because we all know that people are very curious about remote positions or flexible situations, and I understand that you have cleared remote work and non-cleared work. So tell us about how you support the Space Development Agency with flexible work arrangements.
Kelly Newman 05:47
So, being very flexible is number one. And one of the things that this team has embraced -- and I've been with this program for two years now, so I'm very impressed with how we operate in an agile environment -- so we embrace the safe, agile framework, and our teams meet almost daily. And so it's very important, when you've got a remote staff that's working, say in Minnesota, in our main offices in Scottsdale, such that we know that those folks in different locations know on a daily basis, what their tasks are and how they get those. And since we're operating in an agile framework environment, we have two-week sprints on top of PI planning events that take place every three months. And so as you can imagine, it's very important that we meet on a daily basis. And so that's from a team as large as we are, probably 150+, but growing to over 200 staff engineers within the next six months. And so that's very important for us to have those daily interactions to ensure that all of the team members know exactly what they're going to be executing for that sprint, if you will.
Rachel Bozeman 06:54
Absolutely. So that's a lot of growth over the next six months, and know that you're looking for those engineers. But something that always helps job seekers out there is to understand what kind of talent or what kind of people do really well at GD Mission Systems?
Kelly Newman 07:09
So a lot of breadth, I think, is good. But what I've been focusing on lately is young engineers that don’t necessarily have the skill set that we're looking for today, but have the potential to grow into that. And so what I've been focusing on, and what I'll probably focus on for the next few months, is hiring younger engineers that are energetic, very enthusiastic, want to learn, and are able to carry the baton, if you will, as us older guys retire and punch out. So that's my focus. But I mean, the type of people that do really well here, I mean software engineers are obviously, it's a ground system, it's software-based systems engineers, because obviously it's a system of systems. So we really need some talented system engineers. I am looking for specific engineers that understand a tracking element, because that's one large part of what we're doing. I mean, that's part of this figuration of constellation is. In essence, system engineers and software engineers are very much the focus of our hiring aspects right now.
Kathleen Smith 08:15
When you were talking to our staff on the pre-call, you mentioned that GD Mission Systems has employees who have been with the company 30-40 years. So it sounds like your culture at GD Mission Systems really supports career growth. I think you even describe the culture as both extremely rewarding and forgiving. What do you mean by that? And do you have an example that you can share with our audience?
Kelly Newman 08:40
So, yes, you're spot on with the longevity of employees here at GD. I have friends that have been in the company longer than I've been there, 28 years. I have friends that are closing in on 40 year timeframes. It's rewarding. I think GDMS, as a whole, offers their employees opportunities to open their wings and do many different things. I mean myself, for example, I went project leadership, program management, back to senior engineering, manager of engineering. We have that ability to offer our employees that career advancement, career growth. And not only that, GD offers specific programs for our younger engineers. We have a program called SEAL, System Engineering Architecture Leadership that hand-picked selection of folks, engineers, young engineers, are earmarked to go through this training. And it's a very exceptional program that offers younger engineers and propels them into leadership roles within engineering, within GDMS. So that's just one of the things. In terms of forgiving, I think it's just, GD is very offering of opportunities. In case somebody is in a position where they would like to make a change, we go out of our way to make sure that that person can actually get a change.
Kathleen Smith 09:57
I'm going to throw in an additional question. So you have mentioned throughout our interview young engineers. What mentoring would you give to a young engineer thinking about their cleared career versus going with a commercial career?
Kelly Newman 10:14
Sometimes the younger generation, there's a stigma with having to work in a SCIF environment. They can't take their phone, you know, those kinds of things. But I've been seeing a lot more recently where we've interviewed young out-of-school, I'll call them pandemic babies, that really want to embrace the culture and get into the mission. So I've been very impressed interviewing and talking with younger engineers, newly graduated, that want to get into an experience with the program and embrace the mission and be in that SCIF environment and not have your cell phone hitched to your side, right? So that's part of the stigma. I think with some of the open and closed programs, there are still younger engineers that don't want to be stuck in a SCIF. I worked in a SCIF for 12 years straight, when I was a program manager. It does have a downside relative to that, but if there's also the aspects of the mission that we're supporting, and that's the reward, right?
Kathleen Smith 11:15
I think the reward is also, you're working on things that are more challenging and more complicated than what you would in the commercial world, because in the commercial world, there's always a revenue component to what you're doing, versus when you're working in a cleared community, or a mission-supportive community, you're working on things that have a higher purpose, I would say. So that's what's really great and serving a higher purpose. Knowing that you are a Marine, thank you for your service, Devil Dog. What does GD Mission Systems do to ensure that there is a smooth transition process for transitioning military?
Kelly Newman 11:59
Our talent acquisition team, I think is probably one of the best in the industry. And so we've got a very detailed organization that actually works directly with transitioning military and provides the details to folks like myself or other managers that are hiring engineers. In terms of providing a smooth transition, it's kind of a case-by-case, individual assessment with folks that are coming from the military. Some come to us that are non-degreed and have to finish a degree. Some come to us that are fully queued up with the four-year degree behind them. So it's really just about ensuring that somebody from the military community, when they do come in, can then adapt to what we're doing, not necessarily as a commercial business, but a big, large corporation that they may not be used to, right?
Kathleen Smith 12:54
I have another question on that. Sorry to keep cutting you off, Rachel. I've had so much coffee this morning, I'm just going for it. So what's some of the advice that you would give to any engineer coming in to meet with you or your team? What are some of the things that they should do to prepare themselves to meet with you?
Kelly Newman 13:15
One of the things that I listen for, and a lot of times when I'm interviewing or sitting in on interviews, I've got my technical team on the phone so they can ask the questions that I just don't know to ask. I'm on the call for character and personality and trying to see if the folks are being as honest and open as they can be. One piece of advice that I would give engineers, whether they be young, medium, or older is, don't try to answer questions that you don't really have an answer for. Be okay with, “I don't know.” And “I'll figure that out, and I'll come back to you.” I think that's a very important aspect of things. And the other is, again, I've probably had several 100 interviews over the past year or so, so I have a lot of experience with this, and there's different levels of nervousness, and that's okay. I mean, being nervous is just part of the process, but don't let it impact or interfere with interacting with the panel, right? Typically when we phone screen, I've got panels on there, and then when I do face-to-face interviews, it's really a one-on-one with myself or my team.
Rachel Bozeman 14:19
Very cool. It's always good to get a hiring manager's perspective in there. A lot of times we hear from the recruiters what to do, but it's great to hear from those that are executing the interview. Some great advice. So thanks for sharing that. So we know that there's folks that are going to be so interested in learning more about the opportunities there. So how in the heck can they get in touch with you or your talent acquisition team?
Kelly Newman 14:42
They could just email me directly, or even the talent acquisition team as well. I am on LinkedIn, so anybody can find me on LinkedIn and reach out and let me know if they're interested.
Kathleen Smith 14:52
Well, Kelly, thank you so much for spending time with us today. We really appreciate you explaining the behind the scenes for engineers needed to support the Space Development Agency. Thank you.
Kelly Newman 15:04
No, thank you guys.
Kathleen Smith 15:07
So Kelly had a really amazing number of things to say, especially about the Space Development Agency he supports. I really appreciated his feedback about young, cleared engineers going into mission-supported work, and how people are more excited now about the passion to support the mission. Rachel, what did you enjoy about Kelly's conversation today?
Rachel Bozeman 15:35
You're so right, Kathleen. There was so much great information that Kelly shared with us, and I really appreciated the importance he put on looking for skills that might not be readily available today, but that you can build in-house. The programs they have to nurture and grow those folks that are just kind of starting out in the industry, I thought was super cool. If you want more, and we know you want more, make sure you get out there and follow so you never miss one single episode. And remember, while you're out there doing great and amazing things, give us that five-star review. Review in your favorite podcast app. Until next time, bye.