top of page
The Blueprint for Engineering Success : Part 1
We are proud to celebrate National Engineers’ Week, a time dedicated to recognizing engineers' impact on shaping the world around us. At Safran Federal Systems, we are fortunate to have an incredible team of engineers whose problem-solving skills, efficiency-driven innovations, and dedication propel our company forward. Their contributions deserve recognition, and this week we are honored to spotlight one of our own: Brent Abbott.
This year’s theme, “Design Your Future”, is both a call to action and a celebration of the limitless possibilities in engineering. In this post we’re diving into the real world of engineering with Brent Abbott, shining a light on how collaboration can elevate your career and reflecting on some of his proudest moments.
Whether you are starting your engineering journey or just curious about what it’s like, buckle up—because with Brent there are no dull moments.
Demystifying the Engineering World
When most people think about engineering, they picture a world of numbers and equations. It is more dynamic and collaborative than we tend to assume.
“Most of the time when people think of engineering, it's typically very analytical its very math oriented. But the reality is that not only is it just really analytical, as well as really focused on the math, but more importantly, and most of what happens in your day to day is that it involves a lot of collaboration with other people, involves a lot of developing new innovative systems really pushing the edge of technology and really getting the opportunity to jump into complex problems that you don't normally see when you're just head down writing on paper or kind of solve problems themselves. So I'd say that ultimately it's the ability to grow and understand and try something different, try something new that you don't normally get the opportunity to do in other parts of the industry.”
Demystifying the truth of what it feels to be in the engineering world. Sitting down with Brent gave us a glimpse of what it means to be an engineer who on the daily are driven to combine the worlds of analytical thinking, problem-solving and creativity to develop innovative systems that solve complex problems.
Collaboration is Key
No matter the role or industry, collaboration is an essential trait to possess. Whether you are brainstorming solutions, refining a design, or troubleshooting a problem, the ability to work well with others is what transforms good ideas into remarkable innovation.
“Collaboration, I would say, is very important to the innovative and development process, mainly because from a team standpoint, you have to know the people that you're working with and get to understand where they're coming from, what those ideas can be as well as the opportunity to learn, grow, experience new opportunities and get feedback on what you're designing and collaborating on. Collaboration provides an opportunity to get a lot of new ideas into the design process that you don't normally get if you're just working on it yourself. With those new design experiences and those other opinions, you really get a more holistic design solution that provides technical capabilities to the customer as well as creates an overall better solution rather than just one that’s designed by an individual themselves.”
The ability to challenge each other, bounce off ideas, and refine designs through discussion leads to effective solutions. At the end of the day, the best ideas are built together.
The Blueprint— Starring Brent
From engineering solutions to engineering his own success, Brent’s story is one of resilience, creativity, and collaboration.
“If my engineering life were a movie and what I've done, I’d call it The Blueprint, let’s go with that. I call it blueprints because kind of in engineering you’re always designing something you always have to have some sort of architecture model to what you're developing, so it always is different…I guess the Blueprints because I like music and there's an album called The Blueprint 3 that I really enjoy.”
Reflecting on Proudest Career Moments
Loving your job is one thing, but true fulfillment comes from making an impact. For Brent, those proud moments happen continuously, each one reinforcing his passion for engineering and innovation.
“I love the work that I do, love getting the opportunity to work on new technologies, new innovative things I would say. From a career standpoint, lately, I've gotten opportunities to work in and lead and develop teams that work on cutting-edge technologies that are either refactoring of what we've done today, or completely new architectures and give me the opportunity to work with the team to drive to a solution in the end is what helps drive me and makes me excited about what I do every day…Ultimately, when the customer comes back and says, thank you for what you did you delivered something that was difficult to make, but we're happy with what you provided.”
In every career, there are moments when creativity and teamwork come together to build something amazing. For Brent, those proud moments are not just milestones but reasons why he keeps pushing forward and inspiring others to do the same.
The Journey of an Engineer
If you have ever wondered what it means to be an engineer, we have taken a deep dive through Brent’s perspective. His role is not only about driving cutting-edge technology, but leading, learning, and innovating alongside his team. However, this is just the beginning. Stay tuned for Part Two, where we dive deeper into his experiences, challenges, and other insights.
bottom of page