Meet The Hiring Manager: Brad Phillips

Welcome to another installment of our Meet the Hiring Manager series! In this series, you will get to know the dynamic individuals who are leading and growing our teams at Systel. Today we’d like to introduce you to Brad Phillips, Vice-President of Engineering. Learn about Brad and the team he leads, and how to stand out in his interview process.

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Name: Brad Phillips

Job title: VP of Engineering

Tenure at Systel: 1.5 Years  

First job: Dishwasher at Ponderosa Steakhouse

Fun fact: Owns 2 square feet of Pikes Peak (deeded for residential for use only) by Colorado Springs, CO chamber of commerce as a result of receiving Airman of the Year while serving in USAF at NORAD’s Cheyenne Mountain complex)

Tell us a little about yourself! Can you tell us about what brought you to Systel?  

I spent over 30 years supporting the Aerospace & Defense community in a variety of engineering leadership roles. My experience includes time spent: Active-duty USAF, Prime Contractor, SETA Contractor, and Tier 2 sub-contractor roles. I was excited about the opportunity to join Systel’s collaborative team where I could use my knowledge and apply many of the best practices I’d learned over the years – in an environment free of unnecessary bureaucracy to help grow Systel’s business.

Do you have a morning routine or afternoon post-work activity that you like to partake in?   

To offset the number of hours I spend on my keyboard each day; I rely heavily on my latest obsession – Pickleball to keep my reflexes sharp and offset any residual stress from work. I enjoy continuing to learn more and getting a bit better each week regardless of heat or cold as long as the courts are dry!

My family and I love to travel and take family vacations. Last December we took a safari trip to Africa (my wife and I, my son, daughter, and son-in-law). We spent a lot of time riding around in these modified Toyota Land Cruisers!

Your team is currently hiring – can you tell us about your team and the open roles?   

Of course! We are presently looking for qualified candidates to fill the following roles to take our engineering team to the next level.

Sr. EE Design Engineer: We are looking for a seasoned engineer who has ‘been there and done that’ … who can take on our most challenging assignments while also serving as a mentor to our more junior engineers. Key aspects of this job involve:

• Design Engineering
• Project Planning & Documentation
• Prototyping
• Production Support
• Qualification Testing

Test & Configuration Technician: We are looking for a person with a software/scripting focused background and experience capable of evaluating and implementing computer system configuration options (e.g., BIOS), building configurations, troubleshooting, verifying configuration performance, and developing test scripts, procedures, and plans.

Key aspects of this job involve:

• Providing detailed Work Instructions for the testing, configuring, or servicing of computer systems
• Assist with prototypes during the Product Development Cycle
• Troubleshooting: Basic Hardware and Software:
  • Hardware: Motherboard, CPU, Memory, I/O, NIC, Video, Drives, Input Devices, Cards, Power Supply, etc.
  • Software: BIOS, OS, Drivers, Applications, other Firmware.

What does a rockstar candidate look like to you?    

Rockstars to me are people who:

• are self-motivated and curious,
• thrive in a culture that rewards collaboration and communication,
• resonate with the idea that “it’s amazing how much we can get done if you aren’t worried about who gets the credit.”

If someone reading this was interviewing for your team tomorrow, what tips would you give them?  

Take the time to do some research on Systel (i.e., explore the webpage) and be prepared to relay how your experience would bring value to the position. Also, come prepared with any questions you have about the role and/or Systel. Be honest and ask any ‘hard questions’ early in the process. We don’t want to waste your or our time if it’s not a match.

We pride ourselves on leading with fanatical customer service, absolute ownership, passion for improvement, and uncompromising integrity; what about our core values resonates with you most?  

I think what resonates most with me about these core values at Systel is that they are far more than just terms that show up on company marketing material. In fact, we run our day-to-day business with discussions that often revolve around being sure we always stay true to these values. Beyond these – one of the things that is key to me is looking for people who always do what is expected … and a little bit more. If everyone on the team takes that one extra step – it’s amazing how much better your organization works!

What’s something at Systel that has you excited?

I am very excited about expanding the size and scope of our global design center in India; we are currently looking to hire an Engineering Manager for our location there. From a system development perspective, I’m very excited about our efforts to modernize our engineering tools and processes while continuing our transition to becoming a more product-based company that will allow us to improve delivery times to our customers while simultaneously reducing risk and ultimately cost.

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