Tejash Patel

The camaraderie leading up to a demonstration is one of the best aspects of my job.

What excites you most about your work?

The most exciting part of my work is preparing our communication systems for demonstration events. During a rapid development cycle, a slew of new features must be tested and integrated into the final design to be demonstrated. These features include waveform components, radio-frequency front-end circuitry, and user interface enhancements. Demonstration events are the culmination of the entire team’s efforts for that development cycle, and it’s exciting to take part in getting everything across the finish line. The camaraderie leading up to a demonstration is one of best aspects of my job.

If you could solve any problem in the world, what would it be and why?

There are two problems in the world that I would enjoy solving. The first is scaling distributed clean energy solutions. In many areas of the world that I have visited, energy production can have a detrimental impact on the local environment — for example, smog-producing coal plants in India and dams that dry up entire rivers in South America. It would be great to help places get clean, quiet, and smart energy systems. The second problem is autonomous transport. People could save considerable time if they didn’t have to operate vehicles manually. I visit family in New Jersey often and wouldn’t mind having an AI [artificial intelligence] driver!

What advice would you offer to someone entering your field?

Someone entering a role in integration or systems engineering should ask a lot of questions and stay apprised of the larger team goals. In this role, one has the unique opportunity to learn about how various subsystems operate and work together. During product development, features and implementations of these features may evolve, so there are no bad questions. Often, asking questions can lead to great discussions and new solutions.