Software engineering senior from Anaconda earns place in highly competitive PALACE Acquire (PAQ) program
Growing up, Sequoia Pflug remembers being fascinated by planes taking off from runways.
“All my family is out of state so, I grew up associating flying with good things like going to see them,” Pflug said.
The computer science and software engineering senior’s interest in aviation grew deeper the older he got. Pflug owns a flight simulator and is working toward pursuing his personal pilot’s license. His biggest aviation accomplishment has been landing a spot in the highly competitive PALACE Acquire (PAQ) program, an initiative of The Air Force Civilian Service. Pflug, from Anaconda, will take off for Hill Airforce Base in Salt Lake City, Utah after graduation. Under the PALACE Acquire program he will be mentored by top engineers for the U.S. Airforce.
“Their branch is one of the few that does software development for F-16s and F-35s,” Pflug said. “To be able to do exactly what I want to do is so cool.”
Pflug went into college to integrate software engineering and computer science knowledge with aviation. While pilots have manual control of airplanes during takeoff and landing, most modern aircrafts utilize highly sophisticated computer systems to operate.
“Almost everything requires a computer system to operate,” Pflug said.
Landing a job in the aviation software industry can be a challenge though. It’s a niche market. Pflug’s journey to his dream job started when a recruiter from Hill Air Force Base held an event at Montana Tech. Only three students attended, and Pflug hit it off with the recruiter, who offered him an interview that went well.
Pflug was accepted into the selective Premier College Intern Program at Hill Air Force Base in Summer 2024.
“The internship was all about learning. It was purely educational and taught me stuff I will use in the PALACE Acquire program as a future employee,” Pflug said.
During the internship, Pflug learned to design drone frames in CAD, assemble them, and then program them.
“What I did there was mostly oriented around connecting hardware with software,” Pflug said. “I built several drones completely from scratch, and developed a program to display speed and altitude data from them on extended reality glasses.”
Pflug feels the opportunity to work for the U.S. government is the perfect fit for him.
“The government is the place to look if you want a stable, low-stress job in computer science,” Pflug said. “Industry elsewhere is very productivity focused and prone to layoffs.”
Pflug says he’s excited to work in a think-tank type environment for an agency that predicts long-term future growth. The 309th Software Engineering Group that Pflug will be part of is expected to hire 3,000 engineers between 2019 and 2029. The PAQ program is also focused on education advancement. Pflug is planning to get a master’s degree in robotics, which the government will pay for him to pursue full-time as part of his employment benefits.
Montana Tech offered opportunities to help prepare Pflug for his post-graduate career. He has been active on campus in a senior project with Professor Doug Galarus, working on the backend of a weather database that is used by the California Department of Transportation. He also is a Prospector, one of Montana Tech’s student ambassadors, and helps with Chi Alpha, a campus ministry.
“Because it’s a smaller school, there are a lot more leadership opportunities that are easily accessible,” Pflug said. “There are plenty of opportunities to practice being in a management position.”
Pflug is looking forward to exploring the mountains near Salt Lake City, as he’s climbed many of the peaks in the tri-county area surrounding Butte and elsewhere in Montana. He says outdoor opportunities played a big part in his college choice.
“Butte’s outdoors spaces are less crowded and allow numerous opportunities around the university,” Pflug said.
Wherever he goes, whether he’s hiking, mountain biking, skiing, or flying, Pflug always feels the desire to push himself higher.
“Whenever I’m somewhere, I want to be at the tallest point,” Pflug said.