By: Jake Trybulski

As threats rapidly go digital, the need for brilliant system engineers has never been greater.

In fact, our national security depends on those who not only can keep up with these trends – but advance and modernize the digital craft simultaneously.

After serving for more than 35 years in the U.S. Air Force and Army, Don Robbins is now BAE Systems’ Chief Engineer for Air & Space Force Solutions. He joined the company in 2014.

Robbins’ team is at the forefront of re-imagining the possible in the realm of digital engineering. Here are three ways he says they are able to do it.

1. Innovating Technology & Infrastructure – This includes technical innovations such as our Digital Engineering Capabilities Lab at Hill Air Force Base, which integrates many of the latest modeling tools into an environment where the engineering team is able to model, simulate, and analyze some of the U.S. government’s most complex weapon systems. BAE Systems has also developed augmented reality, mixed reality, virtual reality, and eXtended (XR) reality labs in Rockville, Md., and at Hill Air Force Base.

2. Leading Processes & Methods – BAE Systems has developed a model based, digital engineering framework called Advanced Integrated Data Environment for Agile Manufacturing, Integration and Sustainment Excellence, or ADAMS, that allows our engineers to perform end-to-end system design, development, integration, maintenance, and sustainment activities.

The ADAMS Reference Architecture is a technology blueprint for the incremental development, implementation, and deployment of such an environment to our programs. At its core, ADAMS implements an Integrated Data Environment by deploying a suite of integrated system architecture modeling tools, engineering design tools, a Product Lifecycle Management system, an Enterprise Resource Planning system, and project management tools.

3. Empowering People & Culture – This includes training and development of the digital engineering workforce, working with these modern technical baselines. BAE Systems has developed a one-year intensive training program for early career employees known as the Model Based System Engineering (MBSE) Catalyst program. Participants will learn new skills and apply them in real-world scenerios through pilot projects and system demonstrations.

There are also MBSE career pathways that lay out free employee courses in logical curriculum at the engineer, architect and manager levels. In addition, BAE Systems hosts and participates in several working groups and communities of practice where practitioners can share best practices and lessons learned in many digital engineering areas such as MBSE, Cyber, DevSecOps, and artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Why is digital engineering so important in today’s world?

With the increased focus on mission engineering, digital engineering allows us to provide our customers with increased mission understanding through early engagement of stakeholders and leveraging extensive modeling, simulation, visualization, and analysis to enable acquisition, production, sustainment, and modernization of technical baselines.

Digital engineering is a core enabler for Systems Engineering and Integration and enables early design decisions, better requirements development, rapid change impact assessment, and collapsed cycle time with faster and better capabilities to our defense customers. The establishment of a single authoritative source of truth allows BAE Systems, as an integrator, to provide our customers increased program agility, accelerated capability delivery, and total ownership of their technical baseline.

What makes a successful digital engineer?

A successful digital engineer is able to understand simultaneously the conceptual application and benefits of digital engineering and how the tools function through hands-on experience.

BAE Systems provides opportunity in both of these critical areas through computer-based learning and career pathways that provide a sound foundation. Some of our business areas also provide direct experience through programs such as our MBSE Catalyst program and the digital engineering boot camp training program.

Read BAE Systems Model Based Systems Engineering Capability Summary here.

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Join the mission

BAE Systems is looking for skilled digital focused engineers across the company.

We invite you to explore cutting-edge career opportunities in Model Based Systems Engineering, DevSecOps, cloud development and architecture, automated intelligence, machine learning, quantum computing, data science, and more by searching our careers site. Or join our talent community today to stay up to date on the latest job opportunities.

The company is also building an elite cyber team to support a significant IT engineering program. This is a unique chance to work with one of the most complex environments within the government.

Join the future and become part of the Next-Gen Digital Transformation team today.

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