Learning Undefeated’s STEM Spotlight series features young professionals from diverse backgrounds who are working to make a difference in science, business, medicine, engineering, and technology fields. Each short video includes a profile of the job role and information about how they came to be interested in STEM.

Deputy Technical Director
Lockheed Martin

Eric Hernandez is the Deputy Technical Director for the ground-based radar product line at Lockheed Martin. Eric began at Lockheed Martin in high school, working as an intern his senior year then going on to receive a full time offer. Now, after over a decade of work with the company, Eric spends his time engineering ground-based radar systems that protect US troops on the battlefield.

“To think that you, as an engineer, even if you’re just writing a couple lines of code, could have a global impact to the rest of the world… That’s powerful.” If you’re interested in Eric’s work; engineering aircrafts, helicopters, drones, or even spacecrafts, he recommends checking out internships in your area and gaining experience in the field. “Find out what internships are available. It’s one of the easiest ways to get started as a middle or high schooler.”

TRANSCRIPT

Hi my name is Eric Hernandez, I am a Deputy Technical Director for our ground-based radar product line at Lockheed Martin. Lockheed Martin is a global technology company. Products you may have heard Lockheed Martin build are aircrafts, helicopters, drones, and spacecrafts.

Senior year of high school I started as an intern at Lockheed Martin and eventually became a full-time employee here. Companies like Lockheed offer a ton of opportunities for high schoolers and even younger age folks to intern or start getting that experience with a tech company. Searching on the web for opportunities, you know, working with your guidance counselor. Find out what types of internships are available. It’s one of the easiest ways to find out what’s available to me as a middle school or high schooler.

At Lockheed we work on challenges that no one else is allowed to work on. We work on challenges that no other company could work on. And so, to think that you, as an engineer, even if you’re just writing a couple lines of code, could have a global impact to the rest of the world. That’s powerful.