EEWebPULSE_2012_i0050.pdf

EE Web

PULSE

EE Web.com

Issue 50

June 12, 2012

Jim Sealock

Boeing

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Jim Sealock

BOEING

Interview with Jim Sealock - Technical Lead for EMARSS Program

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INTERVIEW

J im S ealock

Boeing

Can you tell us about your

work experience before

becoming the technical lead

at Boeing?

My work has been quite varied

since I earned by bachelor’s degree

in physics from James Madison

University. I designed transponders

for missiles and aircraft, monopulse

radar receivers and HF/VHF/UHF

miniaturized receivers.

Jim Sealock - Technical Lead for EMARSS Program

After five years of designing

receivers, I wanted to get more

involved in the development

of systems that used those

components – so I went back to

school and earned my master’s in

systems engineering from George

Mason University. While working

on that degree, I participated in

the design, integration and field

testing of unmanned aerial vehicle

(UAV) tracking and control systems,

as well as communications

intelligence (COMINT) systems for

installation on various aircraft and

surface ships.

What have been some of your

inluences that have helped

you get to where you are

today?

I would certainly say that continuing

education in aspects of my field

that interested me or in which new

technology is emerging has played

a significant role in the opportunities

I’ve had.

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INTERVIEW

Do you have any noteworthy

engineering experiences?

Prior to joining Boeing, I would say

my favorite project was working on

the original design for the Global

Hawk System. My manager at the

time asked if I would like to work

on a project that would take my

experience in data links, receivers

and ground systems, and apply it to

the next-generation ISR bird. How

could I turn down an opportunity

like that?! So from September 1994

until September 2000, I worked the

end-to-end systems engineering

design of the Global Hawk System.

I was both the ground segment

IPT lead and co-IPT of the systems

engineering IPT for the Global

Hawk team. That team was later

honored with the 2000 National

Aeronautical Association’s Collier

Award.

had to hang out of the bucket while

one of my team members held

onto my belt so I wouldn’t fall into

the water. After three attempts, we

finally got the antenna fixed, and

the ship sailed on time to get back

out on its mission. The moral of the

story is that as a systems engineer

supporting the customer, you have

to be able to improvise and get the

task completed any way that you

can!

been proven time and again that if

you do not do the upfront systems

engineering tasks of requirements,

concept of employment and

interface definition, the best

products will be thrown to the side

because they cannot be easily

integrated into the final system.

What are you currently

working on?

The Enhanced Medium Altitude

Reconnaissance Surveillance

System (EMARSS) is an extremely

fast-moving program providing an

ISR platform to the U.S. Army on

an 18-month schedule. One of the

greatest assets to the program is the

team environment being fostered

by the U.S. Army customer with

the Boeing-led team. Our goal is

to deliver a quality system capable

of meeting both today’s immediate

needs and the needs of battlefield

commanders in the future. The

aircraft is the Hawker Beechcraft

King Air 350 ER platform. It

includes two DCGS-A enabled

operator workstations, payloads

supporting MX-15HDi and broad-

spectrum COMINT, and line-of-

sight and beyond-line-of-sight

communication and data links.

Do you continue to take

an active role in product

development? If so, how?

As a systems engineer, I push hard

to be part of initial concept

As a systems

developer

and systems

Do you have any experiential

stories you would like to

share?

As the lead systems engineer on

an Army Joint Task Force QRC, I

was sent down to Roosevelt Roads

to meet a ship that was towing a

30-meter aerostat that had one of

the COMINT sensors onboard

supporting the missions. When I

arrived, I determined that the tail

reference antenna had a broken

connector on the cable. We had to

wait until three in the morning for

the winds to die down so we could

access the tail of the aerostat. I

went up to the tail in a bucket truck

and leaned out over the pier about

45 feet above the water, with only an

SMA wrench and a 15 Watt battery-

operated soldering iron. (That’s

all I was allowed to bring in the

bucket!) To reach the connector, I

integrator, we’ll

need to become

more efficient

in the selection

What are your main roles

and responsibilities with this

project?

As the technical lead for the EMARSS

program, I report to the chief

engineer and support the overall

system design and integration

efforts where I’m needed. I support

all of the design engineers in their

efforts to apply the practical field-

proven lessons learned, along

with new model-based design

techniques to reduce the amount of

and integration

of the sensors

into the existing

platforms.

development for whatever our next

product development effort is. It’s

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