Bryan Stevens earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the University of West Florida in 2004 and received a master’s degree in business administration and management from Central Michigan University a few years later. Since February 2019, he has served as chief of workforce strategy and human resources (HR) data Intelligence at the Air Force Research Laboratory.

In this position, Stevens is responsible for the laboratory’s corporate recruiting and talent acquisition, diversity & inclusion, employee development, HR data products, analytics, and corporate training and workforce initiatives targeting the nation’s historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and minority-serving institutions (MSIs).

This week, Stevens and his team are hosting a job fair in Career Communications Group’s STEM City USA metaverse. The partnership is part of CCG’s ongoing effort to bring people into the metaverse.

The event will provide attendees with an opportunity to interview from March 14-18 with AFWERX, a technology directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and the innovation arm of the Department of the Air Force. Below are excerpts from an email conversation US Black Engineer Online had with Stevens.

I decided to host the event on STEM City USA as I understood the bigger vision of how this platform can be utilized in the future of hiring and connecting individuals in a virtual environment. The platform is very realistic and provides an experience that I have not seen in other virtual platforms.

The goal I hope to achieve during this event is to provide supervisors with great candidates to hire and in a virtual platform that allows an individual to experience the hiring event in a virtual world/city that is designed as the digital twin to a traditional hiring event in-person.

Know before you apply

Interviewees should know that AFWERX is part of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). The event is focused on AFWERX, but opportunities exist within AFRL in multiple areas from engineering, contracting, human resources, mathematics, etc. I would advise individuals looking for a position with AFWERX to research this new organization and AFRL. This will further help them communicate their interest to a subject matter expert or recruiter in the platform.

AFWERX currently has positions in contracting, finance, program management, science and engineering, mathematical sciences (data analytics), and entry-level. Individuals working for AFRL and AFWERX have the ability to work on innovative technology and help the warfighter, in the end, achieve a specific mission.

For this event, AFWERX leads and inspires innovation throughout the Department of the Air Force (DAF) by building a collaborative team of technologists, operators, and acquirers through three core divisions: AFVentures, Spark, and Prime.

AFVentures partners with industry, investors, and academia to broaden access to innovative technology, using tools such as the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. SPARK provides innovative concepts for employing those technologies on operational problems by networking, training, and empowering Airman and Guardian talent. Prime then drives the transition of emerging technologies to the field.

So, what other organization do you know that provides you to work with industry, academia, and investors? This is an exciting opportunity, and anyone would be excited to join this team of talented individuals in AFRL and AFWERX. Join the virtual hiring event on STEM City USA.