Chuck Owen

I'm an engineer at heart, but I got here backwards. I spent eight years running a multi-state aviation business — P&L, people, weather delays — before deciding to head out on walkabout. I left a senior leadership role to build things for a while, and it was the best decision I've ever made.

Since then, I've had the pleasure of working on technology flown on the International Space Station, technology that sends photons through the atmosphere to map objects and terrain, and technology that defends networks from adversarial cyber intrusion. While I love building, the years I spent cultivating my leadership skills turned out to be my biggest strength.

I've transitioned to engineering management and direct a large telecom program across four engineering disciplines, lead two AI research efforts I developed from proposal through funding, and am finishing an M.S. in artificial intelligence at NJIT in my spare time.

This is where I write about the things that interest me.

Leadership

What Comes After Technical Mastery? [career]
Technical mastery remains the foundation, but emotional intelligence and interpersonal collaboration become the forces that pull capable people into a team.
Delegation Is Not a Hands-Off Sport [management]
Delegation requires a manager to step back without stepping so far away that the person taking ownership is left to manage the risk alone.