Joey was ecstatic when he learned he was going to be working for Raytheon Missile Systems in Louisville, Ky., last summer.
He was presented with the opportunity of a lifetime, one few people have had the chance to experience. Joey left the small-town environment he’d known all his life to experience life in the big city, hoping his summer employment at Raytheon would help him gain meaningful knowledge and experience while strengthening his prospects for permanent employment at the company after he graduates.
Employment at Raytheon gave Joey a chance to apply the practical skills, theoretical knowledge and commitment to excellence he learned in the School of Polytechnic Studies at Southeast.
Raytheon is an industry leader and innovator, with recognized expertise in defense and government electronics, space technology, information technology, technical services, business aviation and special mission aircraft. Throughout its more than 80-year history, Raytheon has been a leader in developing defense technologies and converting those technologies for use in commercial markets. The legacies of Raytheon, E-Systems, Texas Instruments, Hughes Aircraft, Beechcraft and others have been combined to form one company with a uniform vision: to be the most admired defense and aerospace systems supplier through world-class people and technology.
After a two-day orientation, Raytheon believed Joey was ready for his job assignment. He was excited to learn he’d be part of the Phalanx close-in weapons system radar servo (RSA) final assembly electrical engineering team. He would work on a team designing a rapid-fire, computer-controlled, radar-guided gun system built to defeat anti-ship missiles and other close-in air and surface threats an enemy may present.
Joey’s primary job function on the team was to combine, create and reduce redundancy in the company’s engineering plans. In order for the Phalanx and other Raytheon systems to be manufactured with flawless or near flawless precision, employees must have excellent engineering plans to follow. Employees like Joey are essential to the engineering team and the company as a whole.
Each day, Joey examined engineering drawings, planning documents and bills of materials, looking for similarities. When he found them, he combined them into one uniform plan while referencing the plans he combined. He also worked with the original architects of the RSA to develop a routing plan that would be effective yet easy to understand. As a result of Joey’s summer employment, Raytheon was able to streamline its routing plans and reduce the amount of paper used in the building.
Joey’s experience at Raytheon gave him a chance to experience life as an employee in the defense industry. Raytheon’s employees are seriously dedicated to their jobs because they’re aware the lives of sailors, marines and soldiers around the world depend on their commitment to excellence. The great working environment, commitment to the employees and reputation of Raytheon makes Joey excited about the prospect of returning to work for the company in the future.