Teamwork, Innovation, Recognition, & Representation

Principal Siraaj Hasan was recently awarded one of the Black Engineer of the Year Awards (BEYA) most prestigious honors: Outstanding Technical Contributions in Industry. But when asked what the recognition meant to him, Siraaj talked instead about the impact it could have on others.

“The BEYA award means a lot to me because when you’re a minority in this space, oftentimes you may not feel that you’re fully being seen. That can affect you in many ways,” he says. “As a principal, I think it’s important for junior staff to see someone like me in that position. Representation matters.”

Siraaj shares highlights from his award-winning career—and advice for future leaders.

Siraaj joined Booz Allen as a 19-year-old computer science student at Hampton University, one of America’s historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU). The firm’s cooperative education program and a top-secret security clearance led to work supporting future combat systems and exploring early modeling and simulation, intelligence gathering, and more.

With the support of “a lot of great mentors and leaders,” Siraaj transitioned to managerial roles, including with Booz Allen’s aerospace business. “We looked at future threats from a space standpoint and how to use space and satellite assets to support intelligence collection and military campaigns,” he says.

During Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, his Booz Allen team supported counter-improvised explosive device (IED) efforts, helping stand up a simulation and wargaming team that worked directly with military commanders on the ground. His team assisted with planning efforts to help military troops avoid roadside bombs, insurgent attacks, and other real-time threats affecting the lives of the nation’s military men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Siraaj has spent the past decade providing cyber expertise to senior leaders in support of the Department of Defense’s national cyber mission, a role that is morphing and changing with the stand-up of Booz Allen’s National Cyber business in 2022. “It’s a really exciting role, integrating traditional functional service offerings, like wargaming, red teaming, and joint exercise design and planning with new and advanced National Cyber capabilities and technology solutions that include virtualized environments, artificial intelligence, 5G, malware analysis, DevSecOps, and cyber physical testbeds,” he says.

What’s led Siraaj to stay with Booz Allen for a quarter century? “The people,” he says, both in his client work and in the firm as a whole. Siraaj serves as the Chair of the firm’s global Multicultural Business Resource Group (BRG). In this capacity, he is committed to working with employees from across the entire firm.

“For employees, the Multicultural BRG brings people together within the firm, so they have a sense of community,” he says. “And from a business side, it’s a great opportunity to develop and mature the diverse talent that differentiates Booz Allen in the marketplace.”

Siraaj is embarking on his third year as Global Multicultural BRG chair, after his mentors in BRG leadership encouraged him to take the position.

“I’ve been truly honored that they thought of me in that way,” he says. “I knew that my experience and career at Booz Allen could be valuable in helping to move our firm’s DEI initiatives forward, and I’ve been honored to help in that capacity.”

Siraaj’s advice for future leaders? “Get comfortable operating in uncomfortable space,” he says, especially when it comes to getting out there and building your network. “That’s often very uncomfortable for many of us,” he says. “Especially if you’re a minority, you may not feel welcomed at times.” But the benefits are worth it when you’re meeting people from within and outside of your area of expertise—and growing your career.