Dr. Linda Braun
Vice President and General Manager, Optical and Photonics Systems, CACI
Dr. Linda Braun has dedicated her 30-year career to unlocking the mysteries and opportunities for deploying technology in space to enhance our national security. She leads a portfolio that includes transformative technology and advanced manufacturing in laser communications for missions ranging from national security to human spaceflight and across all domains.
Braun’s group is at the forefront of an industry focused on the deployment of photonic technology in space, which includes a wide variety of applications such as 3D imaging, gas sensing and precision navigation, but the largest and most mature application is secure, high-speed networks in space using laser communications technology.
“We’re becoming increasingly dependent on real-time data and communications ⏤ meaning no latency ⏤ to be able to understand what’s going on (sense), analyze it real-time, and act quickly to keep our nation and assets safe. In this dynamic, space-based communication is imperative,” she said.
Braun joined CACI in 2019 through the acquisition of LGS Innovations. In her three years at CACI, Braun’s strategic and visionary expertise has led to increased revenue year-over-year in her areas of responsibility, and she successfully executed several space hardware production programs.
In a series of progressively senior positions during her career, Braun led the creation of some of the most advanced free-space optical laser communication and remote optical sensing solutions available today. She has authored more than 30 technical publications, given numerous talks and presentations at conferences, universities and industrial and government laboratories. She holds two patents. In 2019, Braun was the recipient of the Rutgers School of Engineering Distinguished Alumna Award for Research. In 2022, she was named Space Executive of the Year, Public Company, by WashingtonExec.
Why Watch
It’s an exciting time to be in this business, and thanks to visionaries like Braun, CACI is at the forefront of capability development. CACI spans the entire market with respect to optical communications according to Braun.
“We’re one of the few companies with U.S.-based manufacturing and production that can provide hardware across low earth (LEO), medium earth (MEO), and geosynchronous (GEO) space orbits, as well as airborne and terrestrial environments and ground terminals,” she said.
CACI experts are working hard to realize the potential of deep space communication such as transmissions from the Earth to Mars or the moon. CACI is the leading U.S.-based free-space optical laser communications provider supporting space, airborne and terrestrial missions to U.S. government and commercial customers.
“I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say that Dr. Braun is a visionary,” says Todd Probert, president of the National Security and Innovative Solutions business for CACI. “CACI’s advances in photonics and laser communications are rightly viewed as breakthrough innovations for the multi-domain mission demands of today’s environment, and Dr. Braun’s strategic leadership is instrumental in this success.”