Most Promising Engineer, Undergraduate Degree

It takes an exceptional individual to become the youngest Integrated Systems/Hardware Lead in your company and supervise a 25-person cross-discipline team upgrading a key legacy product at a major Defense contractor.  For Carmen M. Mercado, however, these remarkable achievements are all part of a day’s work. 

Ms. Mercado is so highly regarded by her superiors that, throughout her short but already significant career at Raytheon Technologies, she’s consistently been placed into roles far above her salary grade responsible for tasks that require flawless execution. 

She is currently a Mechanical Engineer II in the Antenna Systems Department at Raytheon Missiles and Defense.  Her achievements include serving as the lead on the team tasked with the assembly and testing of the THOR Gen 2 Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor.

She’s also distinguished herself with the Patriot Poland Integrated Shelters program, where she leads a multidisciplinary team responsible for the delivery of the BMC4I shelters to the military – the youngest lead in this role.   

Ms. Mercado inherited an affinity for engineering from her mechanically inclined father, and a passion for education from a mother who put herself through college and law school while working multiple jobs.

She was born and raised in New Jersey where her first-generation Puerto Rican immigrant parents instilled in her a life-long dedication to higher education, Latino pride, and community service.

After graduating in the top 10 of her central New Jersey high school class, Ms. Mercado pursued a mechanical engineering degree at Drexel University before a serious car accident forced her to postpone her plans to study overseas.  With perseverance she recovered and made her way abroad to Spain, an experience she credits with allowing her to reconnect with the language of her Puerto Rican roots.

When she returned to Drexel, she decided to revive the long dormant Drexel Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, where her activities soon attracted the attention of Raytheon and earned her a full-time position upon graduation.

Ms. Mercado has continued her work with SHPE after joining Raytheon as a SHPE National Conference Extreme Engineering coach and a Regional Conference workshop presenter. The Extreme Engineering team that she mentors won first place in the 2019 competetion.

Ms. Mercado continues to be active in professional and community organizations as an active member of HOLA, Raytheon’s Hispanic Organization for Leadership and Advancement employee resource group, where as the Director of Operations she coordinates events across Raytheon sites in the Northeast. Previously she has served as Director of Communications and Director of Community Service for her HOLA chapter.

In her free time, Ms. Mercado enjoys playing soccer, dancing to salsa, and, when conditions become favorable again, traveling to expand her horizons.