January 7, 2026 – Torrance, CA – At Intellisense Systems, technical excellence and customer focus are at the center of everything we build — from embedded avionics to advanced sensing systems supporting warfighters and critical missions worldwide. To give our team and future candidates an inside look at the leader behind our company’s direction, we sat down with Dr. Robert (“Bob”) Waldo for a candid conversation about his journey, leadership style, and vision for the future.
To begin, we’d love to know more about you. What inspired you to become an engineer?
I was inspired at a very young age, probably around seventh grade. It was really a combination of things; my dad learned how to become a private pilot on his own, and he used to take me up in a little Cessna 172, which sparked my interest in aircraft.
At home, I would also tinker with things and take them apart. My parents would come home and find the lawn mower completely disassembled — pistons out, valves out. They weren’t very confident I could put it back together, but I always could, and it would run.
No one in my family had ever gone to college, so I was sort of on my own. I didn’t even know what an engineer was, and there was no internet growing up, so researching anything was difficult. But eventually I figured out what engineering was, and from that point on I set my sights on becoming an Aeronautical Engineer.
Tell us about your career journey. What path lead you to Intellisense?
It’s been a path I never would have predicted – I often joke that being a CEO was never on my bingo card.
During my time at the University of Illinois, I co-oped at McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) in St. Louis and worked on the F-15, F-4, and F/A-18. I loved the aircraft world but realized new fighter jets weren’t built often. That led me to pursue my Master’s and PhD, funded by the Strategic Defense Initiative.
After graduating, my research was in space-based lasers, so I started at TRW in Redondo Beach, which at the time was the only company working on that. A few years later, when the program was cancelled, I realized I needed to pivot because the field I had deeply specialized in was no longer being funded.
TRW was acquired by Northrop Grumman, and I worked there until I decided to look for something different. That’s when I found an opening at POC (Physical Optics Corporation, Intellisense System’s parent company). I thought, “Maybe it’s time to move from a big company to a small one and help them grow,” especially since I had learned a lot at TRW/Northrop.
When I interviewed with Dr. Joanna Jannson (Founder of POC and Chairman of the Board at Intellisense Systems), Dr. Gajendra Savant, and Dr. Andrew Kostrzewski, I thought, “These people are brilliant.” I felt I could add to that intellectual energy, so I joined and focused heavily on business development: working with customers, finding contracts, and helping build new products. As we grew the avionics market, I was given the opportunity to lead the Business Development department, expanding my involvement with POC’s sensor business and emerging technologies.
POC eventually sold to Mercury. I stayed through that transition, then moved on to lead as President/CEO at BCI for a few years. When the previous CEO of Intellisense retired, Joanna asked me to step into the CEO role here.
Throughout my career, I made several major pivots: from aircraft to lasers to defense, from a big company to small ones, and eventually into leadership. All of them were driven by awareness of funding, market changes, and long-term sustainability.
Those experiences directly shaped how I ended up here at Intellisense.
How would you describe the culture you’re striving to build at Intellisense?
Our culture is rooted in our Eight Key Behaviors. They begin with the customer, and they end with the customer. Everything in between reflects what we believe is necessary to meet commitments and stay competitive in an evolving aerospace and defense environment.
Could the Behaviors be seven, nine, or twelve? Maybe — but these eight capture the essence of what matters. They’ve already been applied well across the company and are now being integrated into performance expectations through our expanding Performance and Development process. We take them seriously because we want people to apply them daily. They are the foundation of our culture and long-term success.
I know you have an “Open Door” Policy; how would you describe your leadership style?
I’m fairly hands-on. I like to have a solid understanding of all aspects of our business, especially because I have a passion for building products that work — products that meet or exceed customer requirements and are cost-effective.
Even with great teams, building products is hard. I want to understand the challenges our teams run into so I can offer guidance, provide input, or bring in resources. I don’t believe they should have to figure everything out alone.
As for the open door, communication and transparency are fundamental. I believe it’s critical to be clear and factual in communication, since it avoids confusion. I don’t put form over function. Anyone at any level can come talk to me, and I’m very careful to ensure that doing so never negatively affects that person or their chain of command.
We’re a small company. We don’t need artificial barriers just for the sake of hierarchy.
What makes Intellisense a great place to work?
There are several reasons, and every employee might have their own.
We are what I would describe as a boutique development and production company: avionics, embedded electronics, weather sensors, and various sensing technologies. These are difficult systems to build and that’s part of what makes the work meaningful.
Our current project, the ECBU, is being developed to DO-178 Design Assurance Level A, which is the pinnacle of aviation safety standards. Only a handful of companies of our size work at that level.
It’s relatively easy to build something that works most of the time. It’s much harder to build something that works all the time — across hot and cold temperatures, vibration, and every permutation of operating conditions. That’s what DAL-A requires.
Because we’re a small company, any employee’s “lane” can be wide. You can stretch beyond your job description if you have the capability and demonstrate performance. Function matters more than form. If you can solve a problem, you’re encouraged to do it.
And at the end of the day, what we build matters. Our systems support military operators — including my own son, who flies the F-35 and will rely on weather data from IWOS in the field. The work we do here directly impacts people’s lives.
Thanks for sharing your insights into the company. It’s clear you care a lot about your work – how do you recharge or find balance outside the office?
I don’t really feel the need to “recharge” in the traditional sense. I genuinely enjoy the business and the people I work with. I’m usually online around 7 a.m. and stay until 7:30 or 8 p.m., but not every minute is high intensity. The flexibility allows me to sustain that schedule.
I live in South Bay, and every morning I walk down the hills and run back up. It’s peaceful — hawks flying by, quiet surroundings. It clears my mind and is a great way to start the day.
I will sometimes play basketball with a group of employees at a little park on Del Amo. I still ask new applicants if they play, so that keeps things fun.
I also love working with Joanna. There’s no oppressive board dynamic. She wants to help me help the company succeed, and that partnership is something I value tremendously.
If you could give a new graduate one piece of career advice, what would it be?
Understand that you’re always in competition. If you want to take care of yourself and your family, you need to be willing to compete — for roles, for promotions, for opportunities.
Stay aware of market forces and technological changes. AI is coming fast, and the disruption it’ll cause is unpredictable. Observe, learn, anticipate, and figure out how to position yourself in a changing world. Develop a passion for learning.
Entire industries may shift, but there will also be opportunities and by staying aware, you can adapt.
About Intellisense Systems, Inc.
Intellisense Systems, Inc. is a leading provider of advanced sensing, processing, and display solutions supporting a data continuum from acquisition to visualization. Our hardware and software solutions turn raw data into useful information for improved decision-making and process automation. Our services include research and development, design, systems integration, prototyping, production, testing, field support, and training. Headquartered in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the company occupies 80,000 square feet within our Torrance campus. Our ISO 9001:2015/AS9100D- and AS9110-certified manufacturing facilities include areas for electronics fabrication, unit qualification testing, and volume production.