Talk Abstract: 

When people think about careers in tech, they often imagine software engineers spending their days writing code. But many complex real-world systems — including spacecraft — depend just as heavily on systems thinking, interfaces, operations, communication, and engineering judgment.

In this talk, Georgia Tech OMSCS alum Adeena Mignogna shares her path from software engineering into mission architecture in the space industry, including work on satellite command-and-control systems, spacecraft operations, and large-scale system integration. She’ll discuss what systems engineers and mission architects actually do, how software skills translate into broader technical leadership roles, and why some of the most important engineering work has less to do with coding than most people realize.


Bio: 

Adeena Mignogna is a Mission Architect in the aerospace industry with nearly 30 years of experience working on satellite command-and-control systems, software engineering, systems engineering, and human spaceflight-related programs. She holds B.S. degrees in Physics and Astronomy from the University of Maryland and an M.S. in Computer Science from Georgia Tech.

In addition to her technical work, Adeena is a science fiction author, STEM speaker, and co-host of The BIG Sci-Fi Podcast. She is passionate about helping people better understand systems thinking, space technology, AI, and the many different paths into STEM careers.