Meet Tamara Crawford, lead systems engineer for the F-22 Raptor, the world’s first 5th generation fighter.

Fresh out of college with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, she headed to Texas in 2002 to join the company at the crest of military aviation technology.

“I moved with no family, less than $300 in my pocket, and I had never driven more than three hours alone,” she says. “My purpose was to land an engineering position with Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth.”

Did she have an interview scheduled?

No.

Had Lockheed Martin given her an invitation to visit?

No.

Did she know where she would stay?

Not exactly.

Was she sure she could get a job?

To that question, she paused, and then returns another: “Why not?”

Setting out alone for a 10-hour drive to Texas – with no interview scheduled – Tamara left her home in New Albany, Mississippi, with the goal of working for Lockheed Martin.

Arriving in September, she came at a time the company was nearing the end of production with the F-22 while conducting early test flights of its next-generation multirole fighter, the F- 35.

The company also knew sales of its enormously successful F-16 were likely to decline as buyers watched the development of the newer fighter. In short, it was not the most auspicious time for a young engineer to put her resume forward to a company about to close one program and working to keep another on schedule – all while a third program was slowing down.

Today, Tamara, who was featured in Sassy Tech Girl magazine’s 2015 spring issue, is a senior aeronautical engineer at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics.

She is one of 25,000 people who specialize in aircraft design and production, modification and support, stealth technology and systems integration. The products they work on play an important role in the national security of the United States and more than 70 other countries around the world.

Currently, she is working on the dismantling of the F-22, which has reached the end of production. It is her job to make sure the tools and systems used to build the aircraft are not discarded. Every part and parcel has to be tagged and stored for easy retrieval. The work done by Tamara on the F-22 Production Shutdown will be used as a blueprint.

When Tamara began working on the F-35 Program, she was the only American on the team, the only woman, the only person of color, and the youngest member of the team. Her exceptional performance resulted in an invite to become a permanent member.

“I had three brothers. I was the only girl,” Tamara said, who dreamed of being an engineer since she was 13. “I had learned how to succeed in an atmosphere dominated by men.”

Tamara enjoys breaking new ground and plans to continue doing so with Lockheed Martin Aeronautics aircraft.