Shawn Gallaher
BS ISE 2000
MS ISE 2002
UHY Advisors Mid Atlantic, Inc.
Washington, DC / Melbourne, FL
 

I currently work as a Senior Information Technology Auditor for UHY Advisors, DC Inc. The company provides a variety of business consulting services, including accounting, auditing, and legal advice.

In my job, I am responsible for testing, analyzing, and assessing the effectiveness of the security controls surrounding information systems, data, and processing environments. I perform detailed reviews of client security policies and determine if the policies are adequate for the data and resources they are designed to protect.

I also conduct assessments to determine if the policies have been decomposed into the proper information security controls, and if they conform to standards, regulations, and best practices. Each identified control is tested to determine if it is functioning in a manner consistent with management’s expectations and applicable standards.

The job is project-based, with each assignment lasting anywhere from several weeks to several months. The job is also dynamic: each client is unique, so when working with a new client, it is essential to understand their network and the architecture of their information systems.

Our customer base is both federal and commercial; the systems range from small IT environments to the largest organizations in the federal government and public industry. ISE courses in information systems (e.g. database, data integration, and programming) and operations research have proven valuable for this position.

The foundation I received through coursework, research, and faculty support from the ISE department at OU has provided me with the ability and confidence to follow my interests and work in a variety of technical domains and industries throughout my career.

Prior to joining UHY, I worked as a Systems Engineer for Northrop Grumman supporting the design, development, and integration of Department of Defense weapons systems architectures. I initially worked in the Ship Systems business unit, then transferred to the Integrated Systems unit. ISE courses in project management, information systems, and simulation provided valuable knowledge for both System Engineering positions.

During my time with Ship Systems, I was part of a team responsible for supporting all system engineering activities associated with the design of an integrated power system for the next-generation US Naval destroyer. My responsibilities included deriving requirements from high-level system specifications, and analyzing and maintaining linkages between requirements, performance measures, and risk mitigation activities in support of engineering development models. The job was demanding, dynamic, and fast paced, and required regular interfacing with sub-contractors and the customer to address design and related technical issues.

With Integrated Systems, I was responsible for supporting the design of open-systems, services-oriented computing architectures for manned and unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance platforms. My specific responsibilities included analyzing the architecture of systems and software and developing structure and behavior models to capture proposed system performance. Additionally, I was responsible for developing, coding, and testing custom applications to automate modeling and simulation tasks.

For anyone interested in a career in Engineering, I would recommend that they consider the potential opportunities that a degree in Industrial Engineering can provide. My experiences have proven to me that Industrial Engineering gives the skills necessary to perform a diverse set of tasks across a broad spectrum of problem domains.

For me, the best part about Industrial Engineering is that it has afforded me the opportunity to work in a variety of industries and technical domains. Regardless of the project or type of work, the core set of problem-solving skills that I have gained through an education in IE continue to provide me with an advantage.

The knowledge and experience I gained as an ISE student at OU not only prepared me for industry, it also prepared me for continuing my education. I am currently a PhD student in the Industrial Engineering and Management Systems department at the University of Central Florida and believe that my OU ISE experience has more than prepared me for the challenges of doctoral work.