Category: Career Updates

After graduating college, I was very eager to start my career and finally join the workforce.  I could not wait to apply the knowledge I had learned into real world projects. When I was offered a job to join BGI as a software engineer, I knew just how great of an opportunity I was given, having been an intern for two summers.

On my first project as an engineer, I was tasked to work on the ARC (Analysis and Reporting Client) software. ARC provides a mechanism to analyze, visualize and report on flight data. The codebase traces back almost 10 years, so it is a software that has been sustained for a while. I gained immense knowledge just by working through the codebase and understanding how the software functions.

Since many of BGI’s software projects are composed of smaller teams, most of the engineers get to work on all sides of development. This means that one week I may be creating tests or debugging an issue, while the next week I might be writing scripts for data analysis. This helped me understand how different software components interface, making me a well-rounded engineer.

In addition to engineering work, I was given the opportunity train end users on the ARC in Pax River. Getting the chance to meet the customer and educate them on how to use our software illustrated to me how much of an impact our daily work has in the field.  I really enjoyed the experience of being a teacher for a week.

After spending about a year working on ARC, I joined the APA (Aircrew Performance Assessment) project. This software is early in development. I am doing much more architecture and design on this project. I am always looking to challenge myself and am glad that BGI gives me the possibility to explore new areas of software engineering. This makes work stimulating and interesting.

The technology is fun and engaging, but it’s my fellow employees that makes BGI an amazing workplace. Whether it is asking questions about programming or hanging out at a social gathering and talking about how bad the Cleveland Browns are, my co-workers make the working environment exciting and enjoying. I can go to any one of my co-workers for assistance and questions on anything, not just programming, and they will dedicate their time on helping me find the right answer. Having this bond with my co-workers is something I cherish and am grateful to hold. I could not have asked for a better start to my career and I look forward to the future of expanding my engineering knowledge and relationships at BGI.

Individuals combine their strong skills in a competency with their adoption of BGI’s Core Values – Leadership, Integrity, Commitment, Teamwork and Excellence.  BGI recognizes that professionals prioritize their commitment to their team.  We also recognize that our people often balance commitments to their family, volunteer organizations or other duties.  BGI adopts work practices that support of a positive life-work balance.  When allowed by the contracts, BGI offers a compressed work schedule that creates a three-day weekend every other week.  Flexible work schedules and hourly compensation give individuals an ability to fulfill their commitments early, meaning employees can generate free-time to support their causes without using paid time off.  Telecommuting can be an option once an individual is comfortable with the team.  BGI supports government and industry partners across the country.  We work with our customers at their locations, either on-premises or through our primary engineering office in Akron, OH.  Customer locations include Lexington Park, MD, Orlando, FL and Dallas/Fort Worth, TX.  Travel to these or other locations supported by our customers, and opportunities to experience first-hand the impact BGI products have on our customers’ lives, are available for the adventurous.

BGI creates training solutions for aviation.  Our Operational Analysts and Engineers join government and industry partners to develop a variety of advanced training solutions.  In the area of flight simulation, BGI software engineers and systems engineers provide technical expertise to real-time systems that simulate aircraft for manned devices and battlespace components for constructive entities.  These are Fifth-Generation flight simulation systems and are often highly technical and complex.  Providing simulation fidelity that mimics the real-world devices requires superior skill.  Our employees solve some of the most challenging problems in industry.  In the areas of in-flight training and maintenance training, Operational Analysts develop courseware and provide student instruction.  Engineers develop technical systems, such as databases and IT systems, that support the curriculum.

BGI creates specialized data science solutions for aviation.  We help our government customers create enterprise data science systems that benefit the engineers, scientists, pilots and maintainers in the aviation community.  Accomplishing this requires teams composed of multiple competencies.  The types of systems and data that our engineers work with are unique; aircraft across the military fleet produce a highly fascinating data set with the most challenging problems to solve!

Our Engineers develop software components for enterprise systems that store and operate on the data.  It’s challenging to store the high-dimension, high-volume data sets in a way that makes it accessible and useful to the aviation community.  Operational Analysts on the team are often ex-military pilots or maintainers that have insight into vehicle operations and enterprise logistics.  Their knowledge is often in the data, but hidden.  Data scientists work to bridge this gap, using collected data to transform information into knowledge and to provide feedback on the usability and accessibility of the data.  As an individual with strength in one or more of these competencies, you’ll be a contributor on a team that seeks a higher goal, one that only an integrated team can achieve.