Northrop Grumman engineer credits ISE for career success
Published: Jul 16, 2024 2:35 PM
By Carla Nelson
Mathew Reed, a principal human factors engineer for Northrop Grumman, credits his education in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE) from Auburn University for preparing him well for his career.
Reed earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial and systems engineering in 2018, a master’s degree in 2020 and an MBA in 2023 from Auburn University.
“I believe ISE and the department prepared me extremely well for my career,” Reed said. “The broad instruction and intense rigor of the coursework taught me resiliency, something that is very important in today’s workforce.”
Reed transferred to Auburn in the middle of his sophomore year from Clemson University. He chose to study ISE because he wanted to pursue engineering and have the option of a career in management. After taking a course in occupational safety and ergonomics, he knew he had found his path.
“One of the electives I took my first semester was with Dr. Richard Sesek, and from that point forward, I knew I made the right decision,” he said.
At Northrop Grumman, Reed’s duties include performing Design for Maintainability assessments for an Air Force program. He evaluates the system that involves Air Force personnel interaction to ensure the design is maintainable, easy to use and understand, safe and compliant with Department of Defense design criteria standards. He is also his team’s scrum master and secondary working package lead (WPL).
“My scrum master duties involve helping to coordinate schedules, ensure proper burn down of work and facilitating team tasks,” he said. “My WPL duties involve planning and tracking labor and budget through the Integrated Master Schedule.”
Reed fondly recalls his time at Auburn, including playing basketball with his girlfriend, now his wife, Liz. He values the memories and the wealth of knowledge he gained through the ISE program.
“The program I work on currently is incredibly high-paced with high technical standards,” he said. “For most new hires, this is a struggle to get acquainted with, but I already experienced it at Auburn in the ISE department. I’m grateful for such a solid educational background.”
Media Contact: , cmn0023@auburn.edu, 334-844-1404
At Northrop Grumman, Reed’s duties include performing Design for Maintainability assessments for an Air Force program.
