Female Leadership in Engineering: Jane Eisenhauer ’09 at Raytheon 

Jane Eisenhauer ’09 studied mathematics and computer science at Gordon College. She has spent her entire career at Raytheon Technologies, a major U.S. defense contractor company specializing in aeronautical products, weapons and military and commercial electronics. We sat down to ask her about her role as a systems engineer and what it’s like working in Raytheon engineering. 

What does your job at Raytheon entail, and how has it evolved over the years? 

I’ve always worked somewhere in the field of systems engineering, where we look at the big picture and put together all the individual pieces of a system, like software, hardware, etc. The systems we develop are very complex, so we need engineers of all kinds: software, hardware, mechanical and electrical; engineers skilled in test facilities and experts in developing test sites and equipment; engineers in design work; client-facing people who work with government customers to learn what they need; and so much more. 

When I first started my job, there were a lot more discrete tasks where we were told, “This is a problem we need to solve. Here are the parameters, what the solution has to do and what constraints you have.” I’d spend an entire day developing something, talking to my boss about what I did and what problems I still had. There was more alone time, thinking about the problem and sitting on a computer.  

Now I’m in a technical leader role. A lot of my job is managing multidisciplinary teams so we can accomplish much bigger tasks. For example, our teams are comprised of software engineers, mechanical engineers, electrical engineers and systems engineers. We’re constantly looking at the results of smaller assignments, discussing developments with teammates, thinking about the best approaches and determining what directions to take. 

What does Raytheon do? What’s the most challenging part of working there? 

Raytheon is a defense contractor company. One of our primary customers is the U.S. government, and many of our products are used by the U.S. military. I find a strong sense of purpose in my work by helping develop technology that will help protect people’s lives in war or on the battlefield. We make products to protect the people who serve our country. 

One of the more challenging aspects of our work is the long testing process. With the large teams I lead, we have a series of ways to test things, typically starting with simpler tests and growing to more extensive and more operationally realistic tests. First we start by using computer simulation, which exercises only portions of our system. Then we add more hardware into the loop, and a team will craft test sites and simulate real-world scenarios. 

Because our products are often used in times of war, this testing is very important. Our customers and end-users need to know their money’s been well spent and that what we’ve made is going to work every time they use it. Having the patience and vision to make that big picture come alive is essential to our success.  

How did Gordon help prepare you for your role at Raytheon? 

Gordon was instrumental in getting me here. I’ve always liked problem-solving, puzzles, riddles and math, but I started at Gordon as a communications major. During my first year I took Calculus 2 as an elective with Dr. Richard Stout. He was so compelling and engaging that my experience in that class and speaking with him convinced me to switch to a math major. I even ended up working as his teaching assistant.  

During my sophomore year I went to an alumni panel event where I met Gordon alum Dave Evans. He helped me get an internship at Raytheon. My experience at Raytheon motivated me to add a computer science minor at Gordon. It was so illuminating; I really enjoyed the work and learned so much, which is why I returned to Raytheon after I graduated.  

Something else I appreciated about Gordon was studying liberal arts while majoring in STEM disciplines. It taught me you need more than just technical skills to run a successful engineering project. Getting everything to work together, developing schedules and communicating with others to make plans are all important parts of developing a complex engineering solution. If you can’t clearly communicate why your solution is the best option, your solution may not be selected.