Engineering Growth, Building Opportunity

When Joe joined Sabel as an intern in 2019, he didn’t expect the experience to shape the trajectory of his entire career. He was still pursuing his electrical engineering degree, but even then he felt something different about Sabel – a momentum that pulled him forward, from intern to leader, from possibility to product.

Balancing classes with hands‑on work, he was trusted early with meaningful responsibilities and direct exposure to executives, customers, and real client challenges. That trust mattered. He could see the impact of his work ripple outward, and even as an intern he felt part of something bigger than himself.

After graduating, Joe stepped into a full‑time Senior Analyst role in May 2021. His first major assignment dropped him into the world of autonomous missile systems with the Air Force Research Laboratory. The mission: build a virtual environment to simulate and test prototypes before deployment — a challenge requiring precision, creativity, and deep trust.

And Sabel trusted him.

As Sabel expanded its work with the Department of Defense, Joe shifted to supporting Jeff Aldrich’s practice and began working with the U.S. Army on digital engineering and digital acquisition. It was a blend of consulting, engineering, and strategy — helping the government understand how to evaluate software across an entire product lifecycle.

That work revealed a gap: off‑the‑shelf tools simply couldn’t meet the Army’s needs. When Sabel won the contract to build a custom solution, Joe stepped up to lead the effort. What started as a project quickly became something much bigger: the creation of CodeFoundry.

“After about a year and a half of working on it, the team realized – hey, we have some good magic going on with our DevSecOps work,” Joe said. “We had an opportunity in the marketplace to build CodeFoundry into a product and offering that Sabel could provide.”

Under Joe’s leadership, CodeFoundry grew into a scalable product capable of serving future customers across the defense ecosystem. That “magic” didn’t just build a product — it built Joe’s career. He was promoted three times during the CodeFoundry effort alone, and six times over seven years. He’s grown alongside Sabel, adapting to new challenges, new customers, and new responsibilities.

“It’s been amazing to see the growth and expansion and how [Sabel] employees have remained adaptable and flexible through that process,” Joe said.

Along the way, he also earned his MBA, deepening his understanding of the business side of engineering. Now working remotely from Indianapolis, he balances leadership with life at home, where he and his wife recently welcomed their first child.

Through all the change, one theme has remained constant: Sabel’s commitment to empowering its people. Joe sees that empowerment in the autonomy teams are given, paired with the support systems that ensure no one is left on an island.

“We have a good level of autonomy. It’s a balancing act – making sure we have the systems in place to support our teams but ensuring they have the authority to make decisions and actions that support the success of our clients,” Joe explained. “Sabel proves that the company is there to support you; you are in charge but you are not on your own.”

For Joe, the work is meaningful because it blends engineering, leadership, and impact. “I enjoy that I get to engage my engineer skillset to develop a product and ensure we’re delivering the best solutions we can across the company and to our customers,” he said.

And as Sabel continues to grow, Joe continues to grow with it – building products, building teams, and building the future of digital engineering.

“Growing folks in their positions and ensuring the financials back that growth and support the work that we’re doing – and ensuring that all works together to make a successful project here at Sabel – is part of what I enjoy doing.”

His story is one of growth – his own, and the company’s. It’s a story of building something that lasts.