Advocating Women in Engineering Award

Tuyet-Hanh Schnell is a systems engineering product lead for the Aegis Weapon Control System for the Japanese Navy Program at Lockheed Martin Corporation in Moorestown, New Jersey. She oversees the technical, cost, and schedule for the design, development, integration, and testing of the multimillion-dollar weapons systems products for the Japanese navy. In addition, she trains junior engineers through mentoring and job shadowing and teaches five classes each year to Japanese naval officers about weapons products.

Schnell has held technical and functional leadership roles of both small and large engineering teams during her more than 30 years with Lockheed Martin. In those varied roles, she has consistently advocated for diverse candidates and interviewer panels for open technical and leadership positions. As a woman of color, Schnell recognizes the need for representation to be a visible inspiration for others and uses her position to provide them with opportunities.

She joined the Society of Women Engineers to enhance her efforts toward greater diversity, inclusion, and leadership that would benefit young women and students of color interested in STEM careers. She is the FY23 president of the SWE Southern New Jersey Section and serves as the SWE Asian Connections Affinity Group newsletter lead. She has served as a technical mentor for women engineers transitioning to technical leadership roles. Schnell has also participated in Lockheed’s Women in Engineering recruiting events and served as a keynote speaker for its return-to-work panel in partnership with SWE’s iRelaunch program. These intentional practices allowed her to create a diverse organization, resulting in 43 percent of her engineering leadership team represented by women, opening pathways for diverse ideas and innovation.

Schnell is a member of the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers and represents Lockheed Martin on the South Jersey Board of Directors for Junior Achievement of New Jersey (JANJ). Through Junior Achievement, she has inspired students to pursue STEM educations by serving as an executive panelist, mentor, and featured speaker for JANJ events and, along with Lockheed, has coordinated career workshops and leadership development programs.

She is a 2021 recipient of the WE Local Legacy Award and the 2022 WE Local Engaged Advocate Award. She also received the 2022 Women of Color in STEM Award. Schnell received Lockheed’s Women’s Impact Network (WIN) Mission Team Award (2021) for her many contributions that help women advance in the workplace and achieve personal success. Schnell was instrumental in establishing the WIN award at Lockheed, and to date 70 women have received the honor for their accomplishments.

Schnell holds a B.E. in engineering with honors from the Stevens Institute of Technology and an M.S. in electrical engineering from Drexel University. She is a certified lean Six Sigma green belt. She works with STEM Gems, an outreach program she co-founded with Girls Inc. of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey. Schnell sings with the Lockheed Martin choir and cantors at her church. She lives with her husband and their two children in Marlton, New Jersey.