Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems is division of the Massachusetts-based Raytheon Company, one of the largest defense contractors in America. The primary markets for Raytheon IDS is missile defense, command, control, communications, surveillance and reconnaissance, electronic warfare, and precision weapons.
Unfortunately, I am going to have to leave you wondering here. Because of the sensitive nature of Raytheon’s various products and markets, I can only tell you that I work as an electrical engineer for Raytheon IDS.
I will say that I thoroughly enjoy my work, and the challenges it provides me.
Founded in 1975, Bard, Rao + Athanas is an MEP (Mechanical-Electrical-Plumbing) design firm, specializing in hospital, laboratory, and educational facility design, and is considered by industry one of the premier firms in the field.
As an electrical engineering intern, my main responsibilities primarily included designing building riser panels, room layouts, and lighting diffusion from both artificial and natural lighting sources. All of these duties required strict adherence to the local building and energy codes of the project site. Most assignments were very open-ended, with only a section of floor plan and a typical layout given – much of the work done was improvised, then turned into the engineer who assigned the work for review and approval.
bluShift Aerospace strives to create low-cost, environmentally friendly routes to low-earth orbit.
As an electromechanical engineer, I wore a lot of hats for them. I helped design their nozzle, consulted on the oxidizer system, designed their test stand, and designed their oxidizer feedback and control system. My duties ranged from mechanical design, electrical design, and even software design for embedded systems.
I also managed their website and their social media presence from time to time.
One of the largest robotics companies, iRobot has products for the consumer, corporate, and defense markets. Famous for their Roomba home vacuum cleaner robot, iRobot also develops the Scooba, Braava, Mirra, and Looj for the home markets. iRobot makes the Ava system for corporate and hospital markets, and the FirstLook, SUGV, PackBot, and Kobra for the defense and public safety markets. iRobot has one of the most diverse line-ups of robotic products, and is often the leader of their respective market segments.
The mechanical engineering interns were given access to a pool of tickets, issued by engineers throughout the company. These tickets covered everything from systems testing, to test fixture design, to some minor design work. Some interns were attached to specific projects or departments, while others were considered ‘floaters’ who would work across multiple projects during their time at the company. I was dedicated to the team developing a new – now released – consumer product, but also had some projects with product sustaining and research & development.
Wentworth Institute of Technology was founded at the turn of the 20th century as technical institute for teaching hands-on skills to young men. In the 1970s, Wentworth began awarding bachelors degrees, became a coed school, and started a trend of offering programs to keep up with the latest trends of the modern world.
I worked with Prof. Tavares to restore WIT’s supersonic wind tunnel to operation, and retrofit the models and experiments from wentworth’s old subsonic wind tunnel for use in their new one.