From innovative engineers to distinguished veterans and steadfast leaders, the Innovator Awards celebrate the diverse individuals who contribute to the safety and security of our country through their work in Space and Defense. Through their unwavering dedication and commitment, they ensure that our nation remains strong and resilient in the face of challenges.
A total of four awards will be presented at this year’s event: Program of the Year, Nonprofit of the Year, Company of the Year and a Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Company of the Year honor has been awarded to Huntsville-based Radiance Technologies.
Huntsville-based Radiance Technologies is an employee-owned small business prime contractor founded in 1999. Radiance has over 1,000 employee-owners across the United States serving the Department of Defense, national intelligence community, and other government agencies. It is a leading developer of customer-focused solutions in the areas of cyber security, systems engineering, prototyping, and integration as well as operational and strategic intelligence including scientific and technical intelligence.
“We support the Department of Defense and the intelligence community, doing engineering services, research and development, those kinds of things,” said Radiance Technologies CEO Bill Bailey in a recent podcast. “And so we’re about a thousand people, and we’ve been growing rapidly.”
Bailey explained what makes Huntsville such an ideal place for business.
“First and foremost, they nurture small businesses, they nurture startups, they nurture companies as they grow, and they get traction, and they create an ecosystem where everybody pulls in the same direction,” he said. “The city, the state, the federal delegation, everybody’s pulling in the same direction. And they subscribe to this theory that a rising tide floats all boats. So we kind of put the ecosystem, put Huntsville first. And the way we go about leveraging our congressional delegation, our state and county governments.”
Radiance’s culture is driven by a commitment to their customers and their employee-owners. Radiance Technologies has won awards for Best Company Compensation, Best Company Work-Life Balance, Best Company Perks & Benefits, Best Company Leadership, Best Company Outlook, Best Operations Teams, and Best Engineering Teams.
Since 2021, Radiance has hosted college football’s Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl, as well as launching the Radiance Technologies Innovation Bowl – a technology initiative in partnership with the Independence Bowl Foundation to advance STEM learning.
