James Andrews ’22 is working to ensure the safety of the nation’s military, defense and law enforcement teams as an electrical engineer at Alakai Defense Systems, the only U.S. company with technology that detects select hazardous chemicals and explosives from up to 300 meters away using deep UV Raman spectroscopy.
Andrews stepped into his role designing the next generation of standoff threat detection systems less than one year after earning his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Florida Polytechnic University. He said he had several job offers but chose Alakai after touring its facility and seeing its blend of optics, electronics, electromechanics and mechanics.
“I thought what they were doing was really, really cool and that was exactly where I wanted to be,” Andrews said.
The fast-paced, tech-forward role keeps him on his toes.
“One day I might be designing a circuit board for our new Argos sensor that can detect key chemicals and hazardous threats up to 15 meters away,” Andrews said. “On other days, I might be working on a way to integrate that with the Spot robot dogs from Boston Dynamics. Sometimes I get to work with drones.”
Andrews credits his Florida Poly experience for preparing him for the high-skill job from day one. He said his involvement in student organizations such as Purple Fire Robotics and personal entrepreneurial ventures also built real-world skills that translated seamlessly to his current role.
“Pretty much everything that I learned at Florida Poly, I’ve used on a daily basis at work,” he said. “Everything from coding programming in C and embedded C to basic electrical engineering principles – pretty much all of those classes apply.”
Florida Poly recently partnered with Alakai to advance standoff detection technologies, creating student internships, capstones and research opportunities.
“I think we have some exciting things coming around the corner and I look forward to working with Florida Poly again,” he said.
Andrews advises current students to focus on building their extracurricular skills to set themselves up for professional success.
“Start doing what you expect to do at work,” he said. “The clubs are really, really important.”
Now at Alakai, Andrews said he finds excitement every day working on technology that has real-world impact.
“I feel really privileged to work with such a high-tech company,” Andrews said. “Just even being in a country that has this kind of technology is really a privilege.”
Contact:
Lydia Guzmán
Director of Communications
863-874-8557
