Jessica Larson
Austin,TX
Summary
Dedicated and motivated professional engineer and project manager with a strong work ethic and a passion for leadership. Committed to continuous personal and professional development, striving to expand skillset for future high-level leadership roles. Proactive approach, coupled with a desire to inspire and guide others, drives pursuit of challenging opportunities to enhance capabilities. Proficient in technical writing, cultivating relationships through cross-functional collaboration, developing planning and tracking systems, data analytics, and managing projects from inception to completion. Possesses innate ability to clearly articulate organizational mission to outside stakeholders and senior leadership.
Overview
5
5
years of professional experience
Work History
Full Time Project Manager (DE-03)
Army Applications Laboratory (AAL)
06.2024 - Current
- Lead Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project focused on additive manufacturing of hybrid propellant and rocket motor casings to potentially enhance rocket-fired munition production while reducing strain on existing supply chains
- Collaborate PM STORM, PM TAGM, and DEVCOM AVMC to develop requirements, plan quarterly testing, and build out a long term plan for transition of technology to a program office
- Provide guidance and support to the two vendors developing the technology for this project by scheduling individual monthly meetings, providing any technical data required or access to subject matter experts, and various resources for how to successfully do business with the DoD
- Lead RDT&E project focused on robotic autonomous loading and unloading for munition supply that will then be autonomously distributed to units in the forward edge
- Build the contract package, set required deliverables, and build the stakeholder team to get objectives for the project
- Work in partnership with the Contested Logistics Cross Functional team to understand the operational use case for this technology and build out test events throughout the project
- Lead RDT&E project focused on an updated canon aiming & positioning sighting system utilizing a camera system with artificial intelligence and computer vision
- This technology is intended to replace the panoramic telescope on Sel-Propelled Howitzer Systems (SPHS)
- Work directly with PM SPHS on building a transition plan to get required testing and hardening completed to be able to successfully integrate into legacy systems
- Evaluate the technology at demonstration events to ensure the vendor is completing all required technical objectives listed in the contract and build risk mitigation plans to keep the contract on schedule when problems arise
- Work with program offices and cross functional teams in the Army to coordinate long term efforts for each Fiscal Year (FY) to determine which projects AAL will manage
- Provide guidance and recommendations on what projects AAL can manage based on the labs mission, bandwidth, and expertise
- Work with AAL senior leadership to understand the labs budget for each FY to synchronize what projects I am able to take on versus the other program managers in the lab
- Serve as lead data analyst for AAL by gathering, cleaning, and centralizing data via Microsoft Excel and customer relationship management software
- Create dashboards on Microsoft Power BI that monitors AALs project portfolio metrics and funding, tracks long range planning, and assists in weekly internal battle rhythm decision making
- The dashboards are used to brief General Officers, STAFDEL, and CODEL visits
- They are also used internally for AAL senior leaders to make informed, and data driven decisions
- Regularly brief AAL mission and projects I lead to leadership and am volunteered for industry engagement or public speaking events due to comfortability of briefing
Full Time General Engineer (GS 13-01)
Army Applications Laboratory (AAL)
09.2019 - 06.2024
- Serve as technical subject matter expert (SME) for government-funded programs by evaluating technical problems, conducting topic assessments, and leading proposal efforts
- Provide valuable technical insights that aids in decision-making for prioritizing challenges and ensuring that resources are allocated efficiently and effectively
- Curate problem statements and develop official solicitations to be released to the public in a way that is understandable to commercial companies and solves Army needs
- Manage project down-select process within tight deadlines that involves coordinating and training reviewers for evaluation, evaluating technical proposals, and providing recommendations for awarded proposals
- Active participation and occasional leading of monthly meetings and performance evaluation of monthly reports from individual portfolio companies
- Oversee the work of contractors and run lab wide effort for new project management and customer relationship management (CRM) tool that will standardize planning, tasking, and tracking project milestones through the lifecycle of a project
- Prepare and deliver briefs on AAL mission, SBIR process, and project progress to Senior Leadership and at special events
- Mentor commercial companies on how to do business with the Army through webinars, instructional videos, and in-person classes
- Provide expertise in data analytics through processing, condensing, and analyzing data which not only enhances metrics development, but also contributes to improving internal processes and demonstrating AAL's value to external stakeholders
Systems Engineering Intern
Army Futures Command
06.2019 - 08.2019
- Researched how scenario developers create training assignments for Army aviation utilizing AR/VR
- Studied how developers determine what information is necessary for the scenarios and optimization on time spent developing graphical fidelity versus time spent on the complexity and substance of the mission goals
- Implemented a training scenario for rotorcraft pilots in Unreal Engine 4 focused on navigating through a degraded visual environment (DVE) integrating augmented reality tools for pilots to maintain control of aircraft
- Worked in a team environment to create the scenario and project managed the timeline and resources for creating the scenario for the team
Education
Bachelor of Science - Industrial Engineering, Project Management for Engineers
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX05.2019
Skills
- Project Management
- Data Analytics
- Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Word, PowerBI, Teams)
- Salesforce Development & Management
- Task & Calendar Tracking (Asana, Calendly, Google Calendar, Outlook Calendar
Accomplishments
- Nominated by AAL for AFC civilian of the quarter in Q1 FY22.
- Received coin from commanding general of United States Army Futures Command for outstanding performance as technical lead on Robotic Combat Vehicle Sustainment project.
- Received 3 different 'Special Act/Service' awards for going above and beyond required duties throughout 5 years at AAL.
Activesecurityclearance
Secret
Coursework
- Level 1 Engineering and Project Management DAWIA Required Classes
- Civilian Foundations course
- Civilian Advanced Course (in-progress)
- AI Literacy Program
- Attending Army Leader Development Seminar
Timeline
Full Time Project Manager (DE-03)
Army Applications Laboratory (AAL)
06.2024 - Current
Full Time General Engineer (GS 13-01)
Army Applications Laboratory (AAL)
09.2019 - 06.2024
Systems Engineering Intern
Army Futures Command
06.2019 - 08.2019
Bachelor of Science - Industrial Engineering, Project Management for Engineers
Texas A&M University