Anisha Patel: Right along with them. [Program management] [Career Notes]

Summary

CyberWire Daily Episode Summary: Anisha Patel on Program Management and Career Insights

Release Date: July 20, 2025
Host/Author: N2K Networks
Guest: Anisha Patel, Associate Director at Raytheon Intelligence and Space

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Introduction to Anisha Patel

In this episode of CyberWire Daily, host Anisha Patel shares her inspiring career journey and insights into program management within the cybersecurity landscape. As an Associate Director at Raytheon Intelligence and Space, based in Washington D.C., Patel offers a candid look into her professional experiences, the evolution of STEM fields, and the importance of diversity in technology sectors.

Early Influences and Educational Background

Patel begins by reflecting on her upbringing as a first-generation American in an Asian household, where emphasis was placed on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education. This foundational focus steered her away from non-STEM fields, particularly medicine, and towards engineering—a decision influenced both by personal interest and familial expectations.

"Our focus was always mostly on STEM related type of topics. So the choices of things we had to do in life always centered around science, technology, engineering and math."
[01:55]

Her passion for mathematics naturally led her to pursue electrical engineering, aligning with her parents' backgrounds and the pragmatic approach they favored—choosing established, reliable career paths over more unconventional ones.

Academic and Early Career Path

Anisha Patel attended a large university that offered flexibility in major selections, allowing her the option to switch disciplines if necessary. She majored in electrical engineering with a strong emphasis on mathematics, a decision that provided her with robust analytical skills essential for her future roles.

Upon graduation, Patel entered the workforce but soon realized the value of advanced education. She opted to attend graduate school at Georgia Tech, where she earned her master's degree in electrical engineering. Her time at Georgia Tech was pivotal, as it led to her recruitment by Raytheon’s legacy company, E Systems.

"Raytheon came down to campus to recruit... I interviewed with them and ultimately was given an offer to join E Systems in Falls Church, Virginia as a hardware engineer."
[03:30]

Transition to Program Management

Patel's career at E Systems began with a focus on hardware engineering, specifically working on building ground stations for the Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle. She credits her growth to the informal mentorship she received, which guided her into various programs and highlighted her innate skill set.

Desiring to broaden her expertise beyond engineering, Patel pursued a rotational assignment in program management in 2007. This transition was driven by her interest in understanding the financial aspects of engineering projects, a move that has significantly shaped her career trajectory.

"I got requested to do a rotational assignment in program management because I wanted to basically round out the engineers to understand the finance side."
[04:45]

Insights into Program Management

As a program manager, Patel discusses the multifaceted responsibilities that come with the role. She highlights that program managers are perpetually "worrying about everything," from recruiting talented individuals to ensuring compliance with ethics training and preparing for critical customer meetings.

"Program managers worry about everything... you're always looking into the future as well as the present."
[06:10]

The dynamic nature of cybersecurity, especially in the context of ongoing challenges like COVID-19 and emerging mandates, requires program managers to be adaptable and forward-thinking. Patel emphasizes the necessity of balancing immediate tasks with long-term strategic planning to maintain operational excellence.

Evolution of STEM and Diversity in Cybersecurity

Patel observes that STEM fields have significantly broadened over the years. Unlike the narrow confines of engineering or mathematics during her early education, today's STEM encompasses areas like cybersecurity and cloud architectures, providing more diverse entry points for professionals.

"STEM has definitely increased its breadth of topics... include things like cybersecurity and cloud architectures."
[07:15]

This expansion has led to a more varied pool of candidates, not limited to traditional degrees but also including certifications and diverse career paths. Patel notes a positive trend in increasing female participation in STEM, both in academic settings and the workforce.

"I see a lot more females in through the non traditional path, which is good... more of the females are picking STEM careers as well."
[07:50]

Advocacy for Blind Recruitment Practices

One of Patel's passionate advocacies is the implementation of blind recruitment processes. She envisions a hiring landscape where candidates are evaluated solely based on their experience and skills, devoid of personal identifiers that could introduce bias.

"In my ideal world, you would never even see the name of the candidate. We'd just be reviewing the experience portion of resumes and then deciding whether to interview."
[08:20]

This approach, according to Patel, fosters a more equitable and diverse workforce, enabling organizations to harness a wide range of perspectives and talents.

Personal Philosophy and Leadership

Patel concludes by sharing her leadership philosophy, which centers on driving teams to peak performance while maintaining high personal standards. She rejects the typical "do as I say, not as I do" mentality, instead opting to collaborate closely with her team to achieve collective success.

"I was right along with them, achieving the best of me as well as the best of them."
[08:50]

This collaborative approach has not only propelled her teams to excel but also reinforced her commitment to personal and professional growth alongside her colleagues.

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Conclusion

Anisha Patel's journey from a mathematics enthusiast to a program management leader at Raytheon Intelligence and Space exemplifies the evolving landscape of STEM careers and the critical role of diversity and inclusive practices in cybersecurity. Her insights offer valuable lessons for aspiring professionals and industry leaders alike, underscoring the importance of adaptability, continuous learning, and equitable hiring practices in building resilient and innovative teams.

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Note: This summary focuses solely on the content delivered by Anisha Patel between timestamps [01:55] and [08:55], excluding all advertisements and non-content segments as per the provided instructions.

Transcript

[Anisha Patel]

You're listening to the Cyberwire Network powered by N2K.

[Debbie Gordon]

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[Anisha Patel]

Hello, my name is Anisha Patel, I'm an Associate Director at Raytheon Intelligence and Space based in Washington D.C. and I work in the Cyber Protection Services Division. I would like to say it was some momentous, you know, light dawning of experience that I had, but honestly it just comes down to the fact that I grew up as a first generation American from an Asian household. So our focus was always mostly on STEM related type of topics. So the choices of things we had to do in life always centered around science, technology, engineering and math. As a child I was always interested in math, so that was my strong suit more than like the life sciences. So that basically ruled out medicine pretty quickly. Since I had a strong desire to focus on math, I selected engineering as my career choice. My parents were also from a math and engineering background. That's what folks came here from other countries to excel in. Stick to what's tried and tested as opposed to trying something sort of off the wall and new. Because in their mind anything outside of science and math was off the wall and I wanted to pick a bigger school that had more than just engineering to it so that it would offer me the option of Possibly, you know, switching gears if I had to. From there, I ended up choosing electrical engineering just because it had a more of a math focus and less of a science focus to it. You know, in high school, you never realized how few women there are in STEM until you get to college because, you know, in high school everybody has to take everything. So from there I was basically worked for a year and then decided to go to grad school. And since I did still enjoy engineering, I went ahead and actually went to grad school at Georgia Tech and got my master's in electrical as well. When I was at Tech, Raytheon actually came down to campus to recruit. So I have grown up in the Washington, D.C. area my whole life, and we'd always seen the E Systems building. Everybody knew E Systems, which was our legacy company prior to Raytheon. They always knew that they did, you know, the cool black world, secret spy stuff. Right. So Raytheon comes down to campus to recruit. At that point is Raytheon E Systems. And since they were local to the area, I interviewed with them and ultimately was given an offer to join E Systems in Falls Church, Virginia as a hardware engineer, basically building ground stations for the Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle. Had some pretty good mentors that I didn't even realize. It was not a formal mentorship, but people who suggested or pushed me into different areas of the company and different programs based on what they saw as a skill set that I had. I got requested to do a rotational assignment in program management because I wanted to basically round out the engineers to understand the finance side. And that was back in 2007, and I guess my rotation has yet to end. I went to the dark side and then the hole closed and there I end up. I've heard it said many times, program managers worry about everything. And over the years I have realized you do worry about everything from recruiting to are people getting their ethics training done on time? Is the customer having a meeting that we need to prepare for now? Of course, these days it's all about COVID and vaccinations and mandates and all that stuff. So I'd say on any given day, I couldn't tell you what I focus on because it's sort of. You're always looking into the future as well as the present. STEM has definitely increased its breadth of topics, so it's not as narrow focused as when I was in school that either you're an engineering major or you're a math major or you're some sort of science major, and that's it. Now I think we've broadened that scope to include things like cybersecurity and cloud architectures and things that allow people more avenues to get into STEM than what we had back in the day. I do see a lot more uniqueness of the candidates coming forward from a skill set standpoint. It's not just the traditional BSBA and some sort of STEM related career, but it may be a certification or it might be their career took a different path from what their degree was in, but they still excelled at it. I see a lot more folks coming in which includes allowing a lot more females in through the non traditional path, which is good. If you look at the latest college statistics out there, there are just more women on campus now than there were. The hope is that general population increasing to female means that more of those females are picking STEM careers as well. But you know, I think even if you don't do it in college and you can look at industry and look at all the various ways that people can get into a particular field, in my ideal world, you would never even see the name of the candidate. We'd just be reviewing the experience portion of resumes and then deciding whether to interview. Because that way you're not basically detracting yourself one way or the other of you're looking at what their capabilities are and you're not just narrowing it down to one particular type of skill set or one particular type of experience. You're looking across the board to bring in that diversity of thought. I got results. I drove teams to their top performance and capability and then held myself to that same high standard. I was not a do as you say, not as I do type of person, but I was right along with them, achieving the best of me as well as the best of them.

[Kim Jones]

Hi Kim Jones. Here on CISO Perspectives, we get candid with the thinkers, doers and trailblazers shaping cybersecurity leadership. No scripts, no sales pitches, just real stories and hard earned lessons from folks who've been there. If you're looking to grow as a leader or just want to hear how others are navigating this ever evolving field, listen to CISO perspectives. It's your seat at the table.

[Debbie Gordon]

Buying more tools won't make you more secure. Continually training your people will. In this episode, Cloud Range co founder and CEO Debbie Gordon shares how real world simulations are transforming readiness in 2025. Because your last line of defense isn't software, it's your team. Tune in now. Your stack depends on it.