Jessica Womack

In Jessica Womack’s (09) senior seminar class, professor of mathematics Dr. Maria Zack invited a guest speaker to address Womack and other students majoring in information systems. The speaker was a recruiter from SAIC, a leading provider of information technology services and support. As a result of that class, Womack made connections that not only landed her a summer internship, but also catapulted her career in the world of information systems.

For the last five years, Womack has worked as a systems engineer with SAIC, contracting with Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific (SPAWAR), the premier research, development, test, and evaluation laboratory for the U.S. Navy’s command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence. Her team, Integrated Shipboard Network System (ISNS) Engineering, designs and maintains the internal network infrastructure on all afloat Navy ships. ISNS enables real-time information exchange within the ship and between other ships, shore sites, fleet commanders, and family and friends at home.

A typical day for Womack includes meeting with customers (such as SPAWAR) to brainstorm engineering solutions for various hardware or software problems, working with developer groups to integrate new software or hardware into ISNS, and maintaining these systems to keep them up-to-date and functioning properly.

While most of Womack’s work is done remotely, the rare opportunities she does get to work onsite are the most rewarding. When visiting a Navy ship, Womack is typically involved with what’s called a “proof-in,” where she works with sailors to ensure they can use new software or system features efficiently, before updates are sent to the entire fleet.

“It’s really interesting to see sailors interacting with the system and being there to answer their questions or fix any problems they have,” said Womack. “Without seeing the system in action, it’s hard to see what it is you have actually been working toward. But when you do see it in use, it makes it all worth it.”