mechanical engineer

software engineer

senior mechanical engineer

intelligence analyst

analyst

QinetiQ

My overall experience at the Kennedy Space Center (contracted under Qinetiq) working in the media department for NASA Public Affairs, was a wonderful experience for several reasons. I had the opportunity to work with a talented production team and I got to be a part of history by supporting the shuttle program in its final days.  A typical day at work could include the following but not restricted to; editing projects under the direction of producers, driving out to any given location to shoot video at a moment’s notice, preparing lower thirds on the Chyron graphics generator, setting up for live shows, and composing quality still photography for the Kennedy Space Center’s webpage.  In this type of environment I was able to further hone in on my editing skills but also become well rounded in the production world.    
As a participating member of a group of varying talents and personalities, my co-workers new when to have fun and brought a unique comradery to the studio.  They always exhibited the utmost professionalism and always managed to be entertaining in the process.   Through years of working together many of us became tight knit and efficient, but this didn’t exclude us from our fair share of challenges.  As is for most jobs, differences in opinions, beliefs, and ideals can sometimes be quite challenging.  Overtime and lack of sleep accompanied with Florida mosquitoes and stress, sometimes meant no one was happy.    
The most enjoyable part of my employment, aside from the incredible people, at the Kennedy Space Center was the opportunity to be creative through the editing process.  I particularly enjoyed the amount of footage and resources that was available to me for use, and the collaboration of media that existed between the different space center locations.    Another honorable mention would be traveling to California where our team would prepare and cover the live launch shows and experience something out of the, “ already fascinating,” ordinary.  My time at the Kennedy Space center was invaluable to me and I will take those experiences and memories with me where ever I go.  


A typical day at work involves hands on with equipment in our lab, and course-ware development. Examples are, creating Systems Approach to Training (SAT) format lesson plans, power point presentations, student exercises, student hand outs, and training analysis forms.

I learned Subject Matter Expert (SME) level knowledge on a large family of Command, Control, Computers, Communications,  Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) equipment. Experience includes SME knowledge on system operations, system functional administration, and system integration.

Management was less than efficient. Some of this was due to customer changing requirements but mostly it is due to lack of distinct consistent leadership. 

Co-workers are the best part of this job. we are all prior military and get along very well.

Hardest part of the job is the constant changes of directions and expectations.  

The most enjoyable part of this job is conducting formal class room instruction to members of the armed forces and improving the skill level of out nations war fighters. 

The contract unfortunately was lost to another company that brought in it's own people. I am sorry to see this job go.

Qinetiq as a whole is a great company to work for they actually do reinforce employees to have a work-life balance. My only grip is that management appears to be non-existent when it comes to folks working at the client site. If an issue arises at the client site you may have to advocate for yourself in more ways than one; management is not fast to respond to the issues at hand. 

The benefits actually were pretty good considering they had an entire separate leave bank of 40 hours if you need to take leave to care for a child and/or loved ones. That leave was apart from your regular PTO and that came in handy more ways than one. 

For anyone looking for advancement I say take the opportunity to attend the networking functions and Christmas gathering. You will really meet some great folks at those events and can network to find out some upcoming opportunities that may be aligned with your career shift. I definitely attended a networking social hour and met some really great staff members. I thought based on the volume of folks who attended that I would just be a random face, I was quite surprised that my program manager and contract supervisor received glowing feedback about my attendance there.

As VP of Corporate Security, was responsible for execution of the Security aspects of the QNA Proxy Agreement (PA). Advisef and assisted the QNA Chief Security Officer in establishing policies and procedures to control the distribution of classified National Security information and worked closely with the Technology Control Officer in the development of procedures for the control of classified and unclassified export controlled information. Additional duties involved, in conjunction with the GSC, the auditing and review of Security compliance at QNA Companies cleared under the National Industrial Security Program (NISP); investigation of acts of noncompliance with the PA; liaison with Defense Security Service (DSS) and other Security oversight agencies; counterintelligence awareness programs; identifying and sharing best practices for Security compliance; liaison with the QinetiQ UK Security leadership to insure transatlantic compliance with the PA and integration of Security compliance and awareness throughout the North America businesses. Advised and assisted QNA Group Security Directors with Security issues and PA compliance.

Since I am on-site and the rest of my Qinetiq team is off-site, I enjoy being the “face” of Qinetiq for our team.  The Qinetiq management is very helpful and willing to assist with work related issues as well as personal issues.  My government lead is very supportive and a wonderful leader.  My work day is not very typical and rarely repeats itself.  I support approximately 175 personnel including 10 high level personnel.  Sometimes I work on several projects at once with many interruptions in between.  I complete a range of tasks with assistance from other on-site contractors.  We thrive on solving standard issues with military travel, basic computer problems and even teaching the group some tricks of the trade.  The hardest part of my job is to say “no”.  I have a “yes” attitude and will find answers to next to impossible issues.  There are some things that people should do on their own, but they want someone to observe and say they are completing it correctly.  My government lead reminds me they are capable and can “fall” every now and then.  I enjoy helping the personnel in our group.  The smile on their faces makes my day, every day.

What is the best part of working at the company?
OI was amazing. The owner, and her staff were great! They were very interested and invested in their employees. They held leadership forums for team leads that were informative, educational, and GREAT FUN! She looked after her people so much so that at a certain point, among other reasons for her selling her company, was the fact that those that had been with her for like 7-10 years and had gotten their PMPs but she didn't have the infrastructure to put them into leadership positions. Once she sold OI, every one of her leaders were put in charge of their own projects/programs! 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Nothing really; outside of difficulties resulting from COVID era, it really was great... until she sold OI.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Team oriented; trust and faith in leaders evident as was her appreciation of them. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
It was a typical day - depending on the customer - you could be nutso busy or not busy at all.

I supervised employees ensuring all company policies and procedures were upheld pledging complete customer satisfaction in different parts of the world. Upper management was excellent ensuring an open door policy to all, allowing for a relaxed work environment while still encouraging its employees to be the "best they can be in all they do". Do to the job requirements and the constant travels, the relationships with all co-workers was that of an extended family fun, caring and helpful. The hardest part of the job was leaving my family for weeks or months at a time while being deployed. However, upon returning from a business trip, the company would ensure all employees had a good turnaround time for personal matters before heading out on another business assignment which was greatly appreciated. Overall, working for this company was a very educational, enjoyable, and interesting place to be.

A typical day at my work involved serving the various needs of the Army and Government aviation flight test customer base.  From my placement in the organization, I learned a lot about politics and how others play them ruthlessly.  Regarding management, I learned there is a vast difference between supervisors and leaders - and there are very few Leaders.  Most of my co-workers on the contract were stand-up high-quality people with their values and hearts in the right places.  The hardest part of the job for me was working within a cult of personality supervisor culture that while demanding and intense,  was also retaliatory, crude, intolerant, divisive, and failed to grow or encourage others outside their clique. The most enjoyable part of the job was working with the many kind and professional people also serving within Army flight test.

My favorite part of working at MTEQ was the community - even though my stay was a short one, I feel like I was able to really connect with those who worked there. Everyone was open and friendly and I was immediately accepted into the community and was able to join the weekly ritual of "Cheap Wednesday" (a nearby Mexican restaurant had half price Wednesdays).

A typical day in my life at MTEQ entailed coming into the office in the morning, normally around 7:30am-8am and immediately getting to work on any work from the previous day or one of my ongoing projects. As I was an IT intern, various other tasks would pop up over the day (any technical needs of the other employees were granted priority over my current projects).

Overall it was a positive experience with great opportunity to learn what it was like to work in a full-time environment and interact and work closely with supervisors as well as fellow coworkers.

Most days were spent at a computer developing interactive media and illustrations using Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe Flash. As a telecommuter, I connected to a VPN and then interacted with management by phone, Skype, email, and through the company web site.
I learned a lot of military-focused subject matter.
Most of my co-workers were great, one in particular was outstanding, but many were disgruntled or stressed and turnover was high.
The hardest part of the job was that contracts only covered 8 hours per day and only certain activities; work requirements often exceeded available paid time. Also, technical support was inadequate and frustrating.
The most enjoyable part of the job was that I created some awesome products and was able to contribute some creative decisions.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Mechanical engineer 33 salaries reported	$91,384 per year
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Intelligence analyst 1 salary reported	$127,025 per year
Analyst 16 salaries reported	$101,353 per year

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