Brandon Smith

Brandon Smith has a diverse and extensive work experience. Brandon currently holds the position of Senior Systems Engineer at RapidFlight, LLC, where they lead the systems engineering discipline, serves as a platform chief engineer, and manages programs. Brandon has been instrumental in developing company products and processes, creating program documentation, and mentoring engineers.

Prior to their current role, Brandon worked at Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) for several years. Brandon served as the F/A-18A-D Chief Engineer, overseeing the overall engineering, airworthiness, and upgrades of the USMC F/A-18A-D platform. Brandon also took on the responsibility of being the Source Selection Chair for the Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System, working closely with various departments to evaluate proposals.

Furthermore, Brandon held positions at NAVAIR as the PMA-290 Weapons & Rapid Integration Co-IPT Lead & Lead Engineer, where they worked on weapons and integration projects, and as a Systems Engineer focusing on platform stores integration. Brandon began their career at NAVAIR as a Flight Controls Engineer.

Throughout their career, Brandon has demonstrated their ability to find creative solutions in budgetary environments, work effectively in matrixed organizations, and provide direct fleet/customer support. Brandon'sexpertise spans across UAS development, systems integration, platform engineering, program management, and systems engineering.

Brandon Smith earned a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from Saint Louis University between 2004 and 2008. Brandon then pursued further education and obtained a Master of Science (MS) degree in Systems Engineering from the Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering between 2011 and 2016.