Brandon Haag

Commercial Space Flight has certainly felt like being called up to the Major Leagues for the past six years. Luckily for me, I enjoy tackling challenges, and there’s never a moment where continual personal and professional growth isn’t necessary to explore further.

On Vulcan/Centaur, there has not been a moment without opportunities for curiosity, learning, and problem-solving. The harmony of every discipline doing their utmost while addressing the massive task of cost-effective space flight is humbling. Being around some of the most talented and hardworking individuals in the industry only lifts everyone up.

The redesign of a mechanism a few years ago that no one could figure out or prevent from failing. It was given to me as a very young engineer, but I managed to get it to pass reliability tests and it is still flying today. That was a turning point for my professional confidence, and my colleagues dubbed it the “Space Table,” which was fun. Sometimes it just takes that first win to gain all the momentum you need.

Being naturally curious is something I don’t hear talked about enough, really anywhere except for one episode of Ted Lasso (randomly enough). Today’s culture of all-or-nothing, extremes, and a focus on effort levels has always seemed odd to me. Having a general attitude of wanting to know why, while also being genuinely interested, makes any task more rewarding. I want to emphasize *general* curiosity for my engineering peers. It’s awfully hard to innovate if you get fixated.

From a technical standpoint, learn other disciplines more than your own, and how to integrate with those functions with an almost annoying level of communication. Those who work in silos tend to encounter significant integration issues during installation or deployment. Socially, learn to adapt to others’ communication and learning styles. Make an effort to understand that some need public displays of appreciation while others need  to be left alone to concentrate, and that’s more than okay. The relationships you build over the course of your career are what you will cherish the most, so make a conscious effort to deepen those connections with those around you.

Anyone with a relentless drive to move forward—even if it’s just an inch at a time—makes for an exceptionally wonderful person to work with. The best individuals I’ve interacted with consistently make incremental improvements in their professional growth and daily contributions.

Servant Leadership, rooted in a genuine interest in the growth of each team member, has always led to the building of successful teams. Taking real joy in having your team feel comfortable stopping by at all hours of the day to ask questions has always been my priority in mentorship. This approach removes the “What questions do you have?” mentality that currently plagues classrooms and PowerPoint presentations, fostering a growth-minded culture of “Do you have everything you need to complete this task?”. Being a leader means making everyone’s growth around you your main priority, which is what I enjoy most about being in that position. Removing doubt and hesitation from a team allows relationship-building to flourish, and I believe I will always make career choices based on those relationships in the future.