Date posted: 03/01/2006*

As a company, Raytheon understands the value of building cross-functional leadership at all levels of the organization. The company also recognizes the importance of challenging high-potential employees with assignments that push their limits. That’s why Raytheon established a Leadership Development Program (LDP) to advance the company’s growth and cultivate the next generation of leaders.

The Engineering Leadership Development Program offers talented engineers the opportunity to engage various parts of the business, interact with management, develop innovative solutions to real business challenges, and begin to understand the bigger picture and where they — as engineers — fit in.

State-of-the-Art Curriculum
The Engineering Leadership Development Program is a two-year course of study built around short-term, rotational work assignments. Each engineering assignment provides challenging developmental opportunities that enhance participants’ leadership skills and augment their technical capabilities. Participants have the chance to demonstrate their competence on complex projects and cross-functional task teams. In addition, the curriculum includes seven weeks of leadership and technical training, 20 eLearning modules and several focus group projects. Finally, each participant must complete Raytheon Six Sigma™ training and be qualified as a Specialist.

During the capstone LDP session prior to graduation, students participate in a complex business simulation exercise using the Raytheon Biz Fighter simulation tool. During the simulation, LDP teams lead virtual companies through a simulated aerospace and defense industry by balancing revenue goals, technological competencies and customer expectations to meet the demands of simulated business situations.

Developing Tomorrow’s Leaders 
The Engineering LDP program is composed of two distinct programs: the Engineering Leadership Development Program (ELDP) for existing employees with engineering degrees and the Rotational Engineering Leadership Development Program (RELDP) for recent hires with advanced engineering degrees.

The ELDP program recruits engineers from Raytheon’s internal engineer population in Engineering, Technology, Quality and Manufacturing. ELDP candidates boast between three and seven years of professional experience in their respective engineering disciplines, as well as a desire to move into a technical management role. ELDP participants are encouraged to complete two rotational assignments during the two-year program.

The RELDP program is designed for recruits who have recently graduated with a master’s degree in engineering and is a bit more strenuous. Over the same two-year timeframe, RELDP participants are required to complete three eight-month rotational assignments, each in a different business and a different geographical location. 

A History of Leadership Success
Since its inception in 2002, the LDP program has succeeded in producing more than 350 new cross-functional leaders — 173 of which came from the Engineering LDP. Of those 173, 168 belonged to the ELDP and five to the RELDP. All but a small handful of these leaders are still with Raytheon. Currently, there are 99 employees enrolled in the ELDP and another 29 in the RELDP.

According to current ELDP participant April Starks (Class of 2006), the program has already helped her on a number of levels. “I've taken something away from every session we’ve had — team building, conflict management, presentation skills, overall business knowledge. When a situation arises, you have all these different resources to pull from. By being placed on Six Sigma teams across the company, we’ve learned how we each do business, the best practices and the things we'd like to see our areas implement. The networking opportunities have also been valuable.”   

MathMovesU: Enabling Engineering Careers of the Future
Raytheon is interested in enhancing math and science education at all levels of development, not just the corporate level. In fact, Raytheon Chairman and CEO Bill Swanson believes that the path to a successful engineering career begins when students are much younger. That’s why the company has designed MathMovesU, a national education initiative designed to change middle school students’ negative perceptions of math by engaging them through celebrity involvement, grant money, awards and contests. The program aims to motivate students to pursue engineering careers in the future.

Russell Morris, a current participant in Raytheon’s RELDP, believes the idea behind MathMovesU is right on target. “I would not have been able to do a fraction of what I’ve done today at Raytheon had it not been for a strong background in math and science. Everything in this exciting, fast-paced business revolves around math and science — whether it’s working on a missile, a radar or an entire platform. Even when I might not have touched a calculator for weeks at a time, having that strong background in math and science provides the fundamentals for problem solving.”

Students who participate in a MathMovesU event or activity also stand to have an advantage over the competition when it comes to blazing a career path. If they choose, they can leverage their MathMovesU experience by applying for a math-related internship or work-study program. From there, a college degree — and then Raytheon’s Engineering Leadership Development Program — are well within reach!

Get Involved Today
Engineers interested in learning more about the Engineering Leadership Development Program can visit the LDP website or contact George Lynch, Engineering LDP program manager, at 781.522.3359.


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