Name: Jennifer

 Education: Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, California Polytechnic State University (CalPoly), San Luis Obispo 

What are you working on at Aerospace?
I am the engineering manager of the Immersive Technologies and Animation Studio. We are busy creating virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) applications to immerse the customer into their complex environments and problems. We are also creating 3D animations, which allow the customers to highlight their design solutions, concepts or analysis. These applications and animations range from visualizing satellite orbits, to understanding complex assemblies, to prototyping a collaborative environment for product design reviews and training. Our goal is to provide visualization guidance and design to help solve the hard to understand problems for our customers. 

What is a typical day like for you at Aerospace?
A typical day usually involves a lot of collaboration and organization. I may have project meetings, manager meetings or project demonstrations scheduled throughout the day. In my section, we have a handful of projects running simultaneously, which gives the staff the opportunity to be involved on different tasks throughout the week. I also manage a Visualization and Immersive Technologies Laboratory where we design our projects and give tours. Since I have the unique position of being an engineering manager, so part of my day is spent doing technical work as well. 

What’s the most exciting part of your job?
The most exciting part of my job is knowing that I can design and test projects with the current immersive technologies on the market. I have the freedom to pitch new ideas and solutions to our customers. I have always loved building CAD models, and now I can bring those models to life in an interactive 3D environment. 

Tell us one thing nobody would guess about you?
This is a hard one. I grew up in a small country town in northern California and I even had a horse when I was young. And I never would have guessed that I would be living in Los Angeles and working at such an innovative company when I grew up. 

What excites you about the aerospace industry and space today?
I am excited that the aerospace industry is pushing the limits of space exploration and really paving the way with innovation. It is inspirational to be surrounded by so many passionate scientists and engineers.  

Would you be willing to colonize Mars if it meant never returning to Earth?
If my skills were needed on Mars in order to succeed, then I would be willing to go. But I actually don’t like flying! 

Ready to join the Aerospace team? Visit our careers page.