After graduating a couple of weeks ago with a degree in computer engineering, Faircloth is one of several Tennessee Tech alumni to be hired by Science Applications International Corp. at the new location in Cookeville, set to open this summer.
I got offered a couple of different jobs. The fact that I got offered a job in Cookeville was a blessing, Faircloth said. They were super friendly and super helpful. They are doing what I want to do agile development.
The fact that Faircloth even had an option to stay in Cookeville is a result of several months of negotiations by local and state officials collaborating with Tech faculty and administrators to lure SAIC to the area.
It was a combination of the community support, the economic development Tennessee represents, and Tennessee Tech with the talent that is coming out and ready to go to work, said SAIC CEO Tony Moraco about the decision to open the first Technology Integration Gateway in Cookeville.
SAIC, which has more than 15,000 employees and annual revenues of $4.5 billion, is a premier technology integrator providing full life cycle services and solutions in the technical engineering, intelligence and enterprise information technology markets. By establishing its first center of excellence to deliver information technology services, more than 300 new, quality jobs will be created in the Upper Cumberland.
SAIC is a great company, said Gov. Bill Haslam. They could put this anywhere and they chose Cookeville, Putnam County and Tennessee Tech. I don t think you can overstate how important this is for the region.
The Technology Integration Gateway will produce a wide range of technology jobs, including roles in information technology services, computer programming, engineering and software development. The Cookeville location will also provide cyber security and data science expertise to both government and commercial SAIC customers. It will also give some Tech engineering and computer science students a new avenue for employment.
We graduated a record number of students two weeks ago and, for the first time, we are able to keep more of those graduates here locally, said Tech President Phil Oldham. We still send Tech graduates all over the country, but Cookeville is a place they should stay and more of them are having an opportunity to do that.
The 22-year-old Faircloth was one of the first Tech graduates to be hired by SAIC. So far, more than 20 Tech alumni have been hired at the new location.
They are team oriented and that s what I want to be a part of, said Faircloth of SAIC. There are a lot of people in the computer science department at Tech, and I think they would be excited to get a job at SAIC.
Even though Faircloth had other offers from companies outside of Cookeville, he is happy to be staying in a town he has grown comfortable in and close to a school he holds dear to his heart.
We have some great professors at Tech. I can t say enough about them and what they have done for me, said Faircloth. The cost of living in Cookeville is low and everyone here is so nice. I ve lived here four or five years and it s a good place to start a career.
SAIC s Technology Integration Gateway will be located in the old Region s Bank building in Cookeville s historic Westside.
