Engineering programs often involve integrating multiple complex systems. This can be a major challenge, as different systems may have different interfaces and requirements.
HigherEchelon strives to hire engineers with skills relevant to the customer and with end user experience on the relevant platform. This diverse experience ensures that our engineers recognize the primacy of the system as a whole and work diligently with software engineers, technical writers, OEMs, and other stakeholders to ensure that all components of that system, new and old, function properly as a whole.
Government systems are often targets for cyberattacks, which incurs risk to cost, schedule, and performance, and more broadly, to national security.
HigherEchelon, drawing from Industry best practices, including threat modeling, vulnerability management, a proven DevSecOps approach, and deep experience from its own Cyber division, employs the NIST Cyber RMF to ensure that it follows all federal guidelines to keep customer programs secure.
New systems often need to interoperate with existing legacy systems. This can be a challenge, as legacy systems may not be compatible with newer technologies.
HigherEchelon knows that continuous improvement is a key to victory on both the battlefield and in the commercial sector. As such, our engineers ensure that all components of a system, new and old, work in unison and as expected. We accomplish this through customized, agile development practices and rigorous testing, including Hardware-In-The-Loop (HWIL) testing.
Effective communication and collaboration are essential for the success of any large-scale project.
HigherEchelon always strives to meet our customers’ requirements and exceed their expectations. To do this, we believe that communication and collaboration should occur early and often. We employ agile development and DevOps practices to ensure that all stakeholders are included at each stage of a project.
HigherEchelon’s engineers support the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) by providing software and support services to simulated, ground, and flight missile tests held around the globe. HigherEchelon provides software support to the Network, Systems Integration and Test Environment (NSITE), including the passive collection of interoperability data, which provides a near-real time combined interoperability picture of air, ground, and space track data, engagements, and intercepts. Our engineers also provide cyber monitoring of pre-defined networks in order to ensure that only known reporters are on the network.
The test support services our engineers provide to MDA include the planning, design, execution, and management of test programs based on engineering analysis of developmental and operational test requirements, including the development and publication of Integrated Master Test Plans and Test CONOPS. They also provide onsite operator support, performing independent data collection and situational awareness monitoring for Mission Execution Teams.
The Joint System Integration Lab is responsible for further developing, refining, evaluating, and integrating Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) technologies, platforms, and payloads with the potential of improving the Warfighting Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, and Intelligence (C5I) capabilities of ISR and weapons systems. The JSIL Branch conducts development, experimentation, integration and testing of systems, capabilities, and architectures beyond the boundaries of the typical UAS system. HigherEchelon supports JSIL through help desk support for and comprehensive software testing of the Universal Ground Control Station (UGCS), the Mobile Data and Retrieval – Tactical (MDAR-T), and other systems. HigherEchelon engineers ensure that these software packages are ready to be integrated with other UAS platforms.