Career Achievement in Industry

Clifton Jerome Charlow
Senior Manager, Engineering Programs
Raytheon

By Garland L. Thompson

Clifton J. Charlow works at Ground Zero of U.S. missile defense: He develops radar and electro-optical sensors for missiles, unmanned reconnaissance flyers and low-flying Army reconnaissance aircraft, as well as radars for high-performance fighter planes.

A mechanical engineer with a flair for systems integration, Charlow joined Hughes Aircraft after graduating from the University of California at San Diego, 15 years ago. Hughes plunged him headlong into development of advanced spy aircraft, and Charlow decided to focus on electrical engineering, getting his master's degree from the University of Southern California, in 1991, on a Hughes Fellowship. 

Then came a long series of heady achievements in areas critical to national defense. Army and Air Force officers say Charlow's work ethic, leadership abilities, and broad know-how enable him to find novel solutions to complex technical challenges. Colleagues say Charlow consistently took on new challenges, winning company-wide commendations for completing projects on time and under budget, with equipment size, weight, and cost reductions that revitalized troubled programs.

At the same time, he brought new energy to corporate diversity efforts. Working with Hughes' Black Employees Network and the Engineering Diversity Council, Charlow became an active recruiter of minority engineers at universities in California, Georgia, Louisiana, and Alabama. He continued as a department manager, during the merger of Hughes Aircraft and Raytheon, and signed on as corporate recruiting manager for Atlanta University Center's dual-degree program, promoting technical careers to minority students and shepherding their early steps into the corporate environment.

Today, Charlow runs an organization with 150 engineers, managing a $200-million program bringing critical support to America's ballistic missile warfighting abilities. He leads development of advanced sensors for the billion-dollar Titan ICBM, and his advances have major impact on the missile program's budget and technical capabilities, his recommenders say.

But the most poignant recommendation came from his California neighbor, Stacey Vickers, president of the Del Almo Park Youth Sports Association. Charlow, once the child of a broken home, has become a father, role model, and mentor for neighborhood children as well as a leader of area foster parents working to provide a better environment for inner-city youths struggling against the kind of obstacles Charlow himself overcame. It's hard to find a recommendation better than that.

Garland L. Thompson is assistant managing editor of The Philadelphia Tribune and a member of the Black Engineer of the Year Awards Selection Panel. He can be reached at GThompson@ccgmag.com.