Emily E. Antos
Assistant Program Manager, Engineering Sea Warrior Program, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic, Department of the Navy
After ultra-marathon runner Emily Antos graduated with a degree in math from the University of Mary Washington, she joined Naval Sea Systems Command, where she did classified engineering work. But she said she "craved actually designing," so she went on to earn a master of systems engineering degree through Old Dominion University and then joined the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command.
She is now a leader of the Sea Warrior Program's Mobility Project Team, which focuses on delivering mobile apps to sailors on their personal devices to simplify self-service career management. So far, the team has created 13 apps that are untethering sailors from desktop computers.
"We're trying to take advantage of [the fact that they all have smartphones] and deliver that information, whether it's a mandatory training that's been made into an app or whether it's a form of career management," she said. "We want to make sure that [information] can be delivered to those sailors" quickly and conveniently.
But it's her quickness that has earned the admiration of colleagues. She's credited with creating efficiencies, refining procedures and moving projects from idea to delivery in weeks and months instead of years.
Her team's focus on speeding delivery has allowed the Department of the Navy to rapidly field solutions with remarkably low barriers to use and adoption.
Technical Manager Kevin Burnett, Antos' engineering mentor, said she is the most organized person he has ever known.
"There is a list for everything," he said. "I believe she has lists for her lists. I believe this contributes a lot to the success she has had. Her attention to detail is fantastic. This is what sets her apart from other engineers I've worked with."