By Jake Trybulski

BAE Systems, Inc. employees are innovators in the lab and in life.

Alexander “Zander” Johnson enjoyed building Legos growing up.

“I had a collection of kits that I would build to the letter of the directions. The feeling of accomplishment at the end got me hooked on a creation mindset,” said Johnson, a technology development manager, FAST Labs™.

Today, he’s piecing together a radio frequency device half the weight and cost of previous models with better performance.

The difference? He’s not following directions. He’s creating his own.

Maria Abreu Sepulveda studied voltage decay in high school.

“It was a very simple subject now that I look back on it, but after that experience I was just hooked,” said Abreu Sepulveda, a laser systems group lead, FAST Labs™.

Today, she’s developing a new chemistry that has the potential to extend battery capacity nearly three times its current capability.

The difference? She’s not reading out of a textbook; she’s writing her own.

(Left) Maria Abreu Sepulveda / (Right) Alexander "Zander" Johnson

Fostering creativity, nurturing transformative minds

Johnson and Abreu Sepulveda workshop these advancements through a BAE Systems’ engineering program called Empower Innovation. The projects they work on help drive company research and development efforts to create products and processes that give customers the edge they need.

Unlike the typical individual research and development (IRAD) process, Empower enables employees to drive their own ideas.

It’s part of BAE Systems’ commitment to foster employee creativity and nurture transformative minds like Johnson’s and Abreu Sepulveda’s.

“When you develop individuals, you develop technologies for the benefit of the company,” Abreu Sepulveda said.

Through Empower, any employee in the Electronic Systems sector can submit ideas through an online portal. Hundreds of technology innovations are submitted and individually reviewed each year. The selected entries receive seed money to develop their technology, product, or process.

Along with a virtual model, a few times a year, innovators have the opportunity to present directly to a panel of “investors” comprised of representatives from different business areas within the sector to also earn seed money.

Since the program began about 12 years ago, more than $10 million has been invested into employee-led projects, according to its program manager, Matthew McCarthy. It has resulted in patents that have saved the company millions in process changes and helped secure millions more in contract wins.

Some ideas have eventually gone on to win Chairman’s Gold Awards, BAE Systems’ highest internal recognition honor around the globe.

The BAE Systems difference

What makes BAE Systems’ Empower Innovation program different than others around the world?

“I’ve worked at places prior to BAE Systems with similar programs, but they were more focused on team building. With Empower, you really have the space to imagine new technologies, develop ideas, and take advantage of your talent,” Abreu Sepulveda said. “I felt truly heard on how I could make an individual contribution.”

“I don’t think other companies have the unique perspective BAE Systems offers,” Johnson says. “With your team of about one to four people, it’s amazing what you can accomplish. It feels nice to be trusted. That’s the simplest way to put it. ”

That’s the BAE Systems difference.

Empower individually pairs participants with mentors to help innovation reach the next level, learn how to create a business case, and develop invaluable connections. Ultimately, the program creates leaders.

“Participation is an act of wanting to improve current processes and make significant changes,” McCarthy said. “It allows for project leads to create and build solutions, both technically and operationally, that will prepare them for the challenges that come with being industry leaders.”

“It has given me the trust and patience to be able to learn, fail, and ultimately succeed. I haven’t been here that long, and I’ve already had the chance to share my specific ideas with executive management thanks to Empower,” Johnson said. “You don’t always get that opportunity. It was a very humbling experience to get that kind of face time. The leadership team and program leaders trust and support you.”

Matching parallels

Empower is a unique opportunity to write your own career script with the support and investment of leadership — that’s not something every company offers.

While Johnson and Abreu Sepulveda have successfully created their own path using this program, there’s a parallel that matches this idea in their personal lives.

Johnson grew up in a military family and is the first man in his family to go to college, let alone get a doctorate.

“I always wanted to go into defense because of my family history. I’m the first military-aged male to not enlist, but I still wanted to move the mission forward. Now I’m doing that in my own way,” Johnson said.

Johnson, then age 15 and fighting the sun, with his dad aboard a U.S. Navy submarine about four months prior to his father’s retirement. Johnson participated in a “Tiger Cruise,” where he lived with his dad and crew for a few days and sailed above and below water from Florida to Connecticut.

Abreu Sepulveda grew up on a farm in Puerto Rico.

“Farming is what we do, or at least that’s what we used to do,” Abreu Sepulveda said. “No one studied science. It was something that happened behind a curtain.”

Abreu Sepulveda on her family farm as a child (right), and during a recent visit (left). She got into science in high school when a college professor visited her farm and invited her family to tour the university.

These are the types of people that work at BAE Systems – innovators in the lab, innovators in life.

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Want to work with leaders like Zander and Maria? View FAST Labs™ research and development opportunities here.

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