Anisha Patel: Career Journey in Program Management at Raytheon

Early Career and Education

• 💡 Anisha Patel, an Associate Director at Raytheon Intelligence and Space, shares her career journey, which began with a strong focus on math due to her upbringing as a first-generation American from an Asian household.
• 🎓 She pursued electrical engineering in college, drawn to its math-intensive curriculum, and later earned a Master's degree from Georgia Tech.

Transition to Program Management

• 🚀 Raytheon (formerly E-Systems) recruited Patel from Georgia Tech, where she began her career as a hardware engineer working on ground stations for the Global Hawk UAV.
• 📌 Informal mentors played a key role in her career, suggesting she explore different areas within the company.
• 🔄 A rotational assignment in program management in 2007 marked a significant shift, leading her to stay in the field.

Role and Responsibilities in Program Management

• 🎯 Program managers at Raytheon are responsible for a wide range of tasks, from recruiting and ethics training to customer meetings and navigating current issues like COVID-19 mandates.
• 🗓️ The role requires looking into both the present and the future, making it difficult to define a single focus for any given day.

Evolving Landscape of STEM and Diversity

• 📈 STEM fields have broadened significantly, now including areas like cyber security and cloud architectures, offering more entry points.
• 🌟 Patel observes a greater diversity in candidate skill sets, including non-traditional paths and certifications, which she believes is crucial for bringing diversity of thought into the industry.
• 👥 She advocates for reviewing candidates based solely on experience, removing identifying information to prevent bias and ensure a focus on capabilities.

Leadership and Performance

• ✅ Patel emphasizes leading by example, driving teams to achieve top performance while holding herself to the same high standards.
• 🤝 She believes in working alongside her team, achieving the best from herself and them.