By Steve Brown, Fast Labs™ Technology Group Lead

Sometimes you can’t see the forest through the trees.

Initially, I joined BAE Systems through the Warrior Integration Program (WIP) somewhat on a whim. I grew up in New Hampshire and after my time in service, I returned home. It wasn’t until I got back from the Army that I heard about BAE Systems. In truth, I had no idea what the company was or what to expect from a job in the aerospace and defense industry.

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Steve on deployment circa early 2010s. He's pictured here with his multipurpose K9, Ori.

A former military colleague was in the WIP and he referred me. He believed I would be a good fit with the skills I had learned during my service. The WIP is a three-year rotational program for service members with a focus on integration into the BAE Systems community and translation of military job skills and leadership into corporate leadership.

I started in Facilities, and working on projects surrounding the internal asset for plant management and staffing. The experience was great because the team is awesome and it allowed me to meet many people across the company. In my first seven years at BAE Systems, I was able to move around the company from different sites and across businesses ultimately landing in my current group lead position on the Sensor Technologies team in our FAST Labs™ research and development business area.

When I got the group lead position in our FAST Labs™, I was ecstatic. The team provided me with a new challenge to do something that had not been done before. We were standing up a modeling and simulation capability group centered on growing our sensor expertise across the portfolio. A few months into the role, we won a Cooperative Research and Development (CRAD) program, leveraging expertise across our businesses to develop new technology for our customers.

Everything in my career was going well. I had tremendous respect for the leadership team, my direct supervisor, my team, and the goals that we set out to accomplish.

Changes and “ah-ha” moments

While I was working at BAE Systems, I was facilitating corporate leadership development forums in my personal time. It was a hobby of mine, and it was growing. These forums gave me the opportunity to help develop others. Watching people have those “ah-ha” moments real time is one of the more rewarding things I’ve experienced in my career.

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Steve and a friend at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA during one of his leadership forums.

One forum we held was for a Fortune 100 company and 100 of their highest-ranking executives. I was excited and saw an opportunity to grow my hobby into a full-time business. I departed BAE Systems to pursue this passion. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit and investment events were difficult to find.

I started to think a little differently about my previous roles, the goals, and objectives where I had achieved success and the ones where I had learned lessons. I wasn’t ready to be done working in the aerospace and defense industry, and was still very connected to one of BAE Systems’ missions – We Protect Those Who Protect Us®.

I reflected on my career at BAE Systems and how I experienced many pockets of greatness across the business. BAE Systems had provided me with the opportunity to grow professionally through my different rotations across the business. During my reflection, I had my own “ah-ha” moment and realized I wanted to continue to face challenges, solve problems, and continue serving my country post-military. I decided to reconnect with my BAE Systems teammates and in 2022, I applied for a position.

The idea of rejoining BAE Systems made me smile again, and that’s because of its people. My team members and leadership team made the return very easy and welcoming. When you have the right people on your team, it is an important support system.

I discovered that once you find a team that you can be yourself with, is inclusive, collaborates, shares lessons learned, and celebrates successes … it makes it a lot easier to see the forest through the trees. That is why I chose to return.

If you are interested in joining BAE Systems and being part of a company driven to protect what really matters, I encourage you to reach out to a former colleague and apply for the position.

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