If you work for a private contractor, you may think the job is all about the bottom line. But what those in the defense service sector find is that the mission is just as prevalent – and equally as important – as it is when working directly for the government or serving in the military.
“It’s all about the mission for an integrator like CSRA,” said Nick Trzcinski, Vice President Navy-Marine Corps Business Area, CSRA. That commitment to mission comes directly from Nick’s background as a veteran who served in the U.S. Navy. He notes passion as the thing that now gets him excited about his work supporting the defense industry.
What does that work look like? The missions and projects are as diverse as the problems, and the sectors served extend beyond defense and intelligence to include health, civil, and other agencies across the government, notes Cheryl Garrison, Vice President, Talent Management, CSRA.
What makes defense contracting different?
CSRA is more than a service provider – it’s a solutions provider. And with so much of its work coming from the national security space, those solutions have a real impact.
“If you think about the ultimate goal, it really is the safety and security of the people of this nation,” said Joyce Jenkins-Harden, Business Operations Director, Joint and Air Force Business Area, CSRA. “If you take a look at the world today and how delicate the situation is, you want to ensure that we provide this safety and security, and that’s what CSRA does.”
Anyone who has worked in and around government knows ‘agility’ isn’t necessarily its strong suit. And some of that is by design. Government and defense systems are often designed to last, and designed for security. But what does the government do when it needs an innovative product solution, and it lacks the flexibility within its current framework to explore it?
“It’s hard to bring new technological, and sometimes unproven innovation into the defense infrastructure,” acknowledges Trzcinski “So we can do that for them. That’s something CSRA can do, bring those things to bear, test them in safe environments, secure them, and then bring those solutions to bear in a way that really does leap the naval and Marine Corps infrastructure into the next generation, and the next solution.”
Hiring Next Gen Talent
When your work is that important – and that challenging – you need a specific kind of talent to do it. Garrison notes they expect employees to be creative and entrepreneurial, in addition to professionally competent. It takes that kind of mindset to provide innovative solutions, and help CSRA take its customers to the next level. The reward? In addition to a rewarding career, the knowledge that your work truly does make a difference, not just locally or regionally, but globally.
“The impact of my work is clear,” said Jenkins-Harden, “When you look at the services the defense industry provides to this nation. We want to keep it safe.”
Start Your Mission with CSRA
When you sit down and speak with CSRA employees across the company, it’s clear that mission and innovation aren’t just tag lines – they’re the lifeblood that attracts employees, and prompts them to stay with the company beyond a single contract.
“The mission, the work that we do, matters. It matters to me, I believe it matters to our country. It’s very important work,” said Garrison.
