No workday is the same for Kyle Broad. One day he’s finding answers to complex issues in a short amount of time, the next he’s helping train a new aircraft maintainer.
And he loves it.
As a Lockheed Martin Field Services Engineer, Kyle supports U.S. Army Apache aircrews by providing training and sustainment services on Lockheed Martin sensor and radar technology. He’s one of just 30 engineers deployed or assigned to units across the globe who offer 24-hour support to the Apache community.
Lockheed Martin supports the warfighter where they are
Oftentimes, Kyle’s voice is the first customers hear on the phone if there’s an issue. His no. 1 goal: Getting the bird back up in the air.
“The most rewarding part of the job is figuring out those difficult or never seen before faults,” he said. “The added stress of time constraints and expectations make it that much more rewarding when you can diagnose and fix a problem fast.”
A former armament/avionics soldier and U.S. Army veteran, he’s been in the maintainers’ shoes, and he draws on those ‘laces’ of experience every day.
“It’s rewarding to give back. As a soldier, I had lots of great experiences with civilians and they were the ones who I learned the most from,” he said. “It’s nice to provide this same experience for soldiers, and it’s been rewarding to give them that knowledge and help them improve.”
Working alongside soldiers in the unit to maintain equipment, Kyle finds the culture to be one of continuous learning.
Working alongside soldiers adapting to new equipment
“The Apache helicopter, much like our Lockheed Martin sensors, continues to evolve to keep up with an everchanging threat environment. As this evolution occurs, new problems inevitably arise, and it requires a workforce that evolves along with it,” he said. “Our services engineers are constantly adapting to new software, hardware, and test equipment to provide the best support possible to our customers.”
One of the key digital tools his team leans on is RELY3D, a mobile, Lockheed Martin interactive suite of applications that supports Apache aircraft maintainers with virtual guides, 3-D animations, wiring diagrams and more.
Digitally enhanced tools help to find the fault fast
“Rely3D is especially useful to a services engineer when providing training or to demonstrate a task when an aircraft isn’t available,” he said. “Rely3D provides an alternative as a simulation that can demonstrate tasks unlike any other options available to soldiers. With Rely3D, we can walk soldiers through a task with a graphic simulated Apache. This simulation provides a visual reference that mirrors doing the task on a real Apache.”
He said that for anyone looking to be a field services engineer like himself to be ready for adventure.
“While this job can and will have challenging days, it also provides an unbelievably rewarding experience working hand in hand with the service members of our military customers,” he said. “This job has taken me around the world to places I never thought I’d see, and the experiences I’ve had in this job are irreplaceable.”