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Brian Kwesiga’s life story is as extraordinary as his work. He is not just a systems and software engineer in the aerospace and defence industry, but he has also worked for some of the world’s best companies in the game- Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and now Raytheon Technologies.
His story is a story of endurance, and commitment, mixed with a bit of luck amidst tragedy. It is a story that perhaps best personifies the United States of America, as the land of opportunities, where one can achieve anything, provided they put their mind to it, no matter who they are.
Brian was born in 1987 at Nyakibale Hospital, in Rukungiri District in South Western, Uganda, about 380 kilometres away from Kampala, the capital city. It is here that he also did his early learning, at Rukungiri Kindergarten & Primary School, until Primary One.
His father, Mr. James Kwesiga was a District Heath Inspector (DHI) and his mother, Rosemary Tindiwensi a District Health Educator (DHE). When his father got transferred to work in Kampala, a young Brian then had to move with the family. He did his Primary two and three education at Nsambya Primary School. When the father was again transferred to Mbarara, the family moved again and this time, he went to Booma Primary School, in Mbarara for Primary four, five, and six. Unfortunately, during this time, Brian’s mum passed away- when he was just 8 years. The dad would also pass on when Brian was just 11 years.
The now-orphaned Brian was sent back to St. Peters Primary School, Nsambya, but this time in boarding to complete his Primary 7. After passing his Primary Leaving Exams, he joined Kibuli Secondary School and completed his O’Levels.
Because he now had no parents to take care of him, his elder sister who was already living in the United States, arranged for him to travel and stay there. He arrived in Carrollton, Texas in the U.S. in December 2002. He was 15.
He then joined Dallas College. Due to his age and his coming from a different curriculum, he initially enrolled on various introductory courses before eventually enrolling full-time at the Brookhaven Campus in 2003. He graduated with a degree in Mathematics in May 2005.
In August 2005, he joined Southern Methodist University and completed his – Bachelor of Arts (International/Global Studies) degree in May 2009. During the same time, he simultaneously completed a Bachelor of Science, in Electrical Engineering.
In January 2010 he started work at Lockheed Martin. Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems and associated products and services. He would work here for 7 years and 4 months- first, as an Associate Embedded Software Engineer (January 2010 – Jul 2012) and then as a Flight Test Engineer ( August 2012 – April 2017).
According to his LinkedIn profile, one of his key highlights, as a flight test engineer, he worked with the Integrated Test Force (ITF) Flight Testing Group for the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) F-35 Lightning II stealth multirole strikers. He also says, he worked on the design, development and testing of the mission fighter software for the Fire Control (FC) Operational Flight Program (OFP) Data Link (DL) component domain for the T/FA-50 Korean combat aircraft together with the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI).
While at Lockheed Martin, he also enrolled for a Master of Science, in Systems Engineering at Southern Methodist University which he completed between January 2011 and May 2013. This would enable him to further his career.
In April 2017, he joined Northrop Grumman as a Senior Systems Engineer. Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defence technology company. In November 2018, he got promoted to become Principal Systems Engineer at Northrop Grumman, where he was part of a group of intelligent engineers that integrates software and hardware systems.
After 5 years and 2 months at Northrop Grumman, he in May 2022 joined Raytheon Intelligence & Space as a Sr. Principal Systems Engineer. Raytheon Intelligence & Space specialises in developing advanced sensors, cyber services and software solutions. It is a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies, an American multinational aerospace and defence conglomerate headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It is one of the largest aerospace and defence manufacturers in the world by revenue and market capitalisation.
Outside work, Brian, has also been the President & CEO of the Ugandan North American Association (UNAA) between September 2013 and September 2015. Between August 2008 and July 2010, he was the External Vice Chair of the International Committee of the National Society of Black Engineers. Brian has also previously served as the Treasurer & Board Member of the East Africa Chamber of Commerce as well as a Board Member of the Eastern Africa Diaspora Business Council (EADBC).
EADBC is a US-based non-governmental, membership-based organisation established in 2013 to promote the Diaspora’s role in the delivery of technology solutions for development challenges by leveraging trade and investment partnerships between the United States and the greater East Africa region.
You would imagine that after 2 degrees and a master’s degree in systems engineering, Brian is done with education, but hell, no! This January 2023, Brian enrolled at the Fletcher School at Tufts University for a Master of Global Business Administration.
The fire burns on.
No wonder, he says his first passion is education, followed by technology, history, politics, culture and society.