Brett Ryder
Introduction
Since 2003, Brett has been providing software and systems engineering solutions to the defense industry. As a former military officer and long-time contractor, he understands the unique challenges facing this industry and stands ready to provide innovative solutions for it.
In 2018, he formed New Era Defense Solutions, LLC with the pure intention to tackle these challenges head-on, without the traditional layers of bureaucracy found in the defense industry. The goal is simply to provide quality solutions to challenging problems.
Satellite Ground Systems
In late 2010, Brett designed and built the Space Asset Manager (SAM) for the United States Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). It is the primary Telemetry, Tracking, and Control (TT&C) suite used by this laboratory to fly previous and present date large-scale missions. These satellite missions include ANGELS (2014), EAGLE (2018), and DSX (2019). This suite has been used extensively at both Kirtland and Schriever AFB for previous and currently-ongoing flight operations, and distributed to large defense contractor sites for continued testing.
The initial delivery to the government customer (for ANGELS) occurred at a cost savings of 97% from the proposed cost as offered by an industry giant. Additionally, SAM surpassed competing product performances across the board. Helping the customer score these simultaneous wins (performance and cost) by such large margins remains to be one of Brett's proudest achievements. Across these missions to date, realized savings to the government and taxpayer have easily amounted to tens of millions of dollars - all while technical staff have enjoyed far higher productivity and capability gained with these tools.
Prior to his development of SAM, Brett served in ground and systems engineering capacities for the XSS-11 (2005) and TacSat-3 (2009) satellite systems.
Software and Systems Engineering
From his days as a military officer to his current days as a contractor, Brett's role has often been described as an architect of solutions. He is comfortable designing and implementing solutions for an array of problems. These include end-to-end solutions needed to communicate with satellite payloads, help with quick fixes for bench-top testing, automate mundane tasks for operators, monitor and control test environments, and create intuitive user interfaces. He first works with the customer to envision what the finish line needs to look like, then methodically engineers a viable path to get there.
Skills
Software Languages (Proficient): C++, Perl, Visual Basic, LabView
Software Languages (Familiar): C, PHP, ASP.NET, Java, Various Web Technologies
Databases: MySQL, General SQL
Platforms: Linux, Solaris, Windows
Other: Qt Framework, .NET Framework, OpenGL, DirectX, Networking (TCP/UDP), Serial Communications, and Crypto (COMSEC)
New or unfamiliar languages/scripting are a welcome challenge for Brett. He is a firm believer that they are less of a barrier than finding the "right" person to perform the task, and then learning the necessary language as needed.
Security Clearance
Brett possesses an active DoD Top Secret/SCI security clearance.
Education and Commissioning
Brett holds a Bachelor's of Science in Electrical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, NY), graduating in 2003. He was a recipient of an Air Force ROTC scholarship in college, which led to his commissioning as an officer and subsequent assignment as a developmental engineer at Kirtland AFB, New Mexico. He voluntarily chose to separate from the Air Force as a Captain in 2007.
Contact
brett@new-era-defense.com
(505) 363-3638