One Firm, Many Career Paths
Rotating through roles to promote knowledge-sharing
Megan Montanez supports Booz Allen’s digital transformation work with defense agencies. She likes a change every few years: new questions to pose, new problems to solve, and new collaborators.
After more than a decade at the firm, she still finds new opportunities, especially when her job involves talking to defense leaders about tech adoption and shaping the future of AI in the federal government.
Here, Megan shares her career journey through a variety of Booz Allen roles—both internal and client-facing—and the lessons she has learned along the way.
Finding New Roles Without Finding a New Job
“Early on in my career, I learned that about every two or three years, I just get this itch, and I want to solve something new,” Megan says. “I like to help come up with a solution, put things in their place, get the train back on the tracks, then go do it somewhere else.”
At Booz Allen, she has found that she has career mobility and the chance to take on new challenges, without having to change companies.
“It’s really my favorite part of Booz Allen and it’s unique to the firm,” Megan says. “Booz Allen has given me that opportunity. It has been 14 years now, and every couple of years, I shift into something new where I can make an impact, bringing my thought leadership and skills to a new problem set.”
From Coding to Digital Transformation
“Here’s a little-known fact: I started off as a developer,” Megan reveals. “I got a degree in computer science because I truly enjoyed problem solving and figuring out how to code a solution to somebody's problem.”
But she found she missed the people aspect of the job, and that realization led her to change course.
Working with the Department of Defense (DOD) appealed to her, as one of her parents and her spouse served in the military. With her work supporting the DOD, she focused on modeling and simulation, which brought in the people aspect she was looking for.
Working with individuals and teams to bring in new technologies inspired Megan to think on a larger scale: How could technology be adopted more effectively across an entire organization—especially one with so many different missions and end users?
Megan pivoted to supporting the intelligence community, “where having people in technology is critical.” She continued to explore further, wondering, “How do we provide solutions at an enterprise level when you have varying missions and varying customer bases?”
For example, the technological acumen, access, and capabilities of a warfighter in the field will be different than those of someone supporting from the home front, Megan points out.
“That led me into digital transformation and how we empower the people who are supporting the missions, which brought me to where I am today, making an impact without putting on a uniform,” she says.
Gaining Experience—and Sharing Knowledge—Across the Firm
Megan’s career pivots have allowed her to bring a variety of perspectives—and knowledge— to all areas of her work. "I spent some time in our chief technology office (CTO). In that work, we look at all aspects of Booz Allen’s business to see where we can help and support,” she says.
Being part of the CTO meant rotating into and out of different areas, such as Booz Allen’s global defense and intelligence work.
“It has been beneficial because it gives me an opportunity to understand what's coming next on these potential clients’ journeys and how we prepare for that,” she says.
All these cross-functional experiences pay off—for her, her team, and Booz Allen’s clients. “Our team has a contextualized understanding of exactly what an organization is trying to accomplish, exactly what their pain points are, the mission that they're focused on, and what's coming next,” she explains.
The Human Side of Technology
With all her pivots, Megan has kept the human side of technology in her sights. “Too often, people look at technology as only this cool, shiny new object, forgetting about the people aspect of it, or they are threatened by it,” she says. “Really, it's not as intimidating, but you can't ignore the cultural and human aspects of how technology is implemented.”
“That’s where I’ve made my career: at the intersection of people, mission, and technology,” she adds.
