Interview with Dr. Kazeem Yinusa
Kazeem has a longstanding career as a Research Assistant / Research Engineer as well as (Senior) Communication Systems Engineer. During his time at Munich University of Technology and DLR (German Aerospace Center), he focussed on antennas as he was fascinated about how embedded they are in our everyday life.
“They perform key functions in several systems yet they can be quite simple.”
Kazeem acts as a team leader in the program team. For learning how to lead his team, Kazeem has completed an interesting further training course.
Lead System Engineer,
Program Team
What’s your job at Rivada Space Networks?
As the Lead System Engineer, I ensure that the system we build, including its various subsystems is in line with Rivada's business plan. In the Systems Team, we perform a lot of analysis to find the optimal way to design the Rivada system. We support other technical teams in defining requirements for the system, subsystems, and interfaces. I do a lot of technology partner scouting to ensure that we assemble the best consortium to implement this ambitious and innovative constellation.
In my previous role as a Senior Communication Systems Engineer, I already dealt with a variety of topics including user terminals, communication payload, and the network control center. Since my promotion, I think more about the need of the system in terms of system activities that we should be doing and the needs of the team, especially in terms of personnel required to perform those activities."
You once did horse-assisted coaching. What was the most important learning for you?
Working with a horse has a lot of similarities to working with people. Incoherent messages, presence or lack of empathy, and all those topics you learn in working with horses are relevant when leading people. In one-on-one training sessions, horses can give you immediate feedback on your leadership skills. You can also set up group trainings. Leading from the front, collegial leadership, and leading from behind can all be practiced with horses.
What’s your ‘guilty pleasure’?
I enjoy singing, but I lack the skills of a good singer. This has led to the destruction of many popular songs, but I think my wife and children like it.
So don't catch me singing your favorite track!