Zack Meacham

Flagship · professional engineering

Modernizing Mission-Critical Test Infrastructure in a Constrained Enterprise

2022 – present · Three concurrent efforts

Three concurrent efforts across high-stakes test infrastructure: one originated, one led, one built from scratch. Written public-safe.

  • Ada
  • C++
  • LabVIEW
  • Hardware integration
  • Requirements engineering
  • Stakeholder communication

At a glance

Role
Software Engineer 2; also held Systems Engineer roles earlier in tenure
Period
Sep 2022 – present
Scope
Three concurrent modernization efforts across test infrastructure
Stack
Ada · C++ · LabVIEW · Hardware integration · Requirements engineering
Status
Active across all three efforts; calibration suite in production-facing use
Recognition
Two Boeing recognition awards tied to modernization impact

Why this mattered

Test infrastructure is what the rest of an engineering organization depends on. When the test bench is wrong, every downstream judgment about the system under test is wrong. Modernization here is about supportability and confidence in the data the bench produces, not aesthetics.

My role and ownership

Across the three efforts: helped originate the largest active modernization initiative in my organization by framing system risk and taking the path forward to senior stakeholders; led the software strategy on a legacy instrumentation overhaul as the lead software engineer; built a new calibration-equipment software suite from scratch and carried it through acceptance into production-facing daily use. Also mentored an intern and an early-career software engineer along the way.

Core constraints

  • Brittle legacy systems with real production usage: modernization can't disrupt active operations.
  • Hardware-software interfaces where the legacy behavior carries meaning that has to be preserved.
  • Sensitive program context: some implementation details are intentionally omitted or generalized.
  • Cross-discipline stakeholders: modernization has to be defensible across software, systems, and engineering leadership.

Architecture and key decisions

Flagship test-suite overhaul (originator)

Helped turn a station-level assignment into a program-level modernization. The interesting part wasn't the technical depth alone. It was pairing system understanding with disciplined analysis and stakeholder communication until a credible modernization story existed.

  • Ada
  • Requirements engineering
  • Stakeholder communication

Legacy instrumentation overhaul (lead software engineer)

Inherited a brittle legacy environment with real constraints and missing pieces. The work has been about careful tradeoffs: preserving the legacy behavior that matters, integrating new hardware safely, and creating a supportable path forward without pretending the system is greenfield.

  • LabVIEW
  • C++
  • Hardware integration
  • Modernization strategy

Calibration-equipment software suite (from scratch)

Built a new software suite for calibration equipment that supports broader testing operations. Zero software to production-facing daily use. The kind of work where defining the interface between old and new, and staying with it through acceptance, is most of the job.

  • LabVIEW
  • Real-time behavior
  • Instrumentation
  • Production validation

Execution highlights

  • Calibration-equipment software suite delivered from zero to production-facing use.
  • Legacy instrumentation modernization advanced with new hardware integrated alongside preserved legacy behaviors.
  • Program-level modernization framing built and presented to senior stakeholders.
  • Internal AI-adoption work led across two organizations alongside the modernization efforts.

Impact / current state

All three efforts active; calibration suite is in production-facing daily use. Recognized with two Boeing awards tied to modernization impact. Internal AI-adoption work continues alongside the modernization efforts.

What this demonstrates

Ownership of mission-critical systems under real constraints, stakeholder trust earned through clear analysis and communication, and the discipline to modernize without pretending the system is greenfield.

This page is written public-safe: program names, specific station counts, and sensitive internal detail are intentionally omitted or generalized.

← All work