A Competition, and a Connection, Launched a Career in Engineering: Meet Zander Farr ’25
When Zander Farr ’25 arrived at Le Moyne, he knew that he wanted to further his understanding of math and science in order to build, innovate and solve complex problems. It was a natural fit for someone who has long been passionate about the mechanics of everything around him, going so far as to help construct a racecar, a drone and even a tiny home when he was still a teenager. Farr’s passion for discovery led him to Le Moyne’s Dual Degree Program in Engineering with Syracuse University and to a new role as an associate systems engineer at Lockheed Martin.
In many ways, Farr’s path to Lockheed Martin began in the fall of 2024, when Professor of Physics Stamatios Krykos, Ph.D., asked the students in his Quantum Mechanics class if they wanted to take part in the company’s Ethics in Engineering Case Competition. Farr learned that the competition is designed to help emerging technology professionals think carefully about the ethical implications of the decisions they’ll make over the course of their professional lives, something he was also urged to do throughout his time at Le Moyne. He quickly agreed to participate. Not long after, he and his classmate Krishan Badrie ’26 found themselves surrounded by teams from other colleges and universities from around the country at the Lockheed Martin Center for Leadership in Bethesda, Maryland. They were tasked with determining how to balance the use of AI and human intervention and decision making in order to determine which resources to deploy, and how to prioritize them, to improve wildfire management.
Outside of the competition, Farr and the other students had the opportunity to learn more about Lockheed Martin, testing its simulators and touring the company’s Global Vision Center. In addition, they heard directly from Michael Baylor, Lockheed Martin’s chief digital and artificial intelligence officer, who offered insight into how AI is being integrated across the company, and astronaut Sunita Williams, who joined the group remotely from the International Space Station. They also interacted with some of the company’s engineers, who were doing precisely the kind of work that Farr wanted to do. It was through a connection he made at the competition that Farr learned about an opportunity at the company’s Liverpool, New York, facility.
“This has been a dream job of mine for years,” says Farr, who will work in radar engineering. “I don’t believe any of this would have been possible if I hadn’t had a chance to go to the Lockheed Martin competition.”
Ethics in engineering is one of the most important things we can focus on. The products we develop are often used by human beings and you need to keep that in mind as the main element in the picture.
Farr has already earned his undergraduate degree in physics from Le Moyne, and is currently working on completing his master’s degree in engineering from SU. In addition to taking part in the Ethics in Engineering Case Competition, he filled his undergraduate years by serving as president of Le Moyne’s Physics Club and participating in ERIE21, an education and workforce development program.
Among those who was pleased to welcome Farr to Lockheed Martin was another Le Moyne graduate, Elizabeth Rhode-Sima ‘’12.
As an ethics officer for Lockheed Martin in the Syracuse area, Rhode-Sima’s primary responsibility is to provide ethics training and guidance for the company’s leaders and employees. She also played a role in helping to coordinate the Ethics in Engineering Case Competition.
“I think what’s great about the competition is that we come away feeling so good about the workforce,” she says. “It’s not just how intelligent they are from a technical standpoint, but how well they are able to think through these complex and business-related issues.”
There are estimated to be more than 90 Le Moyne graduates now working at Lockheed Martin nationally, bringing with them not just technical expertise and proficiency, but also problem-solving, communication and team-building skills.
“Lockheed Martin values its long-standing relationship with Le Moyne College,” says Rob Pohl, who serves as a chief engineer at the company. “Through efforts spanning community STEM outreach, student mentoring, and workforce development, this collaboration has made a meaningful impact on the STEM ecosystem in Central New York.”
For his part, Kyrkos says the experience that Farr had at the Ethics in Engineering Case Competition models how Le Moyne students learn.
“Education is not confined to the classroom,” he says. “It’s all of the experiences we provide to our students, particularly a valuable professional simulation like this.
It is part of what it means to be a small liberal arts school in the Jesuit tradition. You have to take philosophy. You have to take religion. You have to take writing-intensive classes. All of this is what gives our students a very strong foundation to address ethical topics, moral topics, that they bring to every aspect of their lives, including their professional lives.”
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