About Us
History
Founded in 1992, Avion Solutions, Inc. is a 100% employee-owned company with a reputation of excellence and reliability in delivering innovative, high-quality solutions. Avion is dedicated to protecting the Warfighter by supporting the Department of Defense in systems engineering, airworthiness, logistics, integrated product support, model-based systems engineering, modeling & simulation, and programmatic support. We have earned multiple Small Business of the Year awards and we are an eight-time winner of the Best Places to Work ® awards.
MISSION
Avion’s employee owners provide innovative ideas and versatile solutions to strengthen our national security and the communities we serve.
OUR VALUES
VALUES
Integrity
Loyalty
Teamwork
Excellence
Innovation
Service
VALUES
Integrity
Loyalty
Teamwork
Innovation
Excellence
Service
Employee satisfaction
Employee Spotlights
Robert Hooper - Test Engineer
Robert (Robbie) Hooper works as a Mission Technical Director on the Ronald Reagan Test Site Engineering and Technical Services contract. He has supported multiple missions, from planning all the way through execution, since becoming an Avion employee-owner more than two years ago. “My days are full of excitement!”, says Robbie, “From analyzing the trajectory information we receive from customers, to creating the test plan that is followed for the flight test, to making the real-time execution decisions during the flight test.”
One proud moment for Robbie was his team’s successful support of the GT 252 intercontinental ballistic missile launch last February. Robbie and his team traveled over 7,000 miles from Huntsville, AL to Kwajalein, RMI to support the test event. As the Mission Technical Director, Robbie collaborated with his team to learn a different configuration on location and ultimately see mission success. He and his team not only provided excellent support to the customer, but Robbie remarked that he learned an incredible amount from the test event.
When asked how he found himself in his current position, he says his experience in the Tennessee Army National Guard has had an impact on his career path. He currently serves as the Battery Commander for a M142 HIMARS Battery and has served in the National Guard for over a decade. His experience with firing rockets in the National Guard, along with a background in kitchen appliance testing, ultimately led him to becoming a Test Engineer and Avion employee-owner. Employee-ownership means that Robbie sees the Avion values represented daily, “The most prevalent element from Avion’s culture I see is everyone’s willingness to help one another…they always want to see one another succeed.”
In his free time, you can find Robbie on a hiking trail, camping, or working on his hobby car- a 1989 BMW E30.
Darall Harris - Test Engineer
Darall is a Test Engineer who supports the U.S. Army Space & Missile Defense Command in planning and executing hypersonic weapon flight testing.
“After six months at Avion, I think the transition has gone very well,” he said, reflecting on the time since he joined Avion when the company acquired SRA. “The culture of SRA and Avion are similar. I appreciate Avion’s concern for employee-owner wellbeing while maintaining focus on meeting customer needs.”
A typical day for Darall includes drafting data collection asset requirements, working with the customer and his team on planning, and coordinating their activities during the mission. “This sounds corny, but honestly anytime my customer is successful, I feel very accomplished knowing that I contributed to the team enabling that success.”
Outside of work, Darall enjoys doing all the projects his wife lines up for him. She also works at Avion, and they have a small farm raising sheep, goats, and chickens. Most of their spare time is spent on farm chores or projects.
Mari Vidrio - Technical Illustrator
Working in Corpus Christi, Mari designs digital models and graphics of mechanical parts, technical documents, and products as requested by our aerospace engineers, analysts, and Government customers. “Avion has one of the best employee cultures I’ve encountered. I feel confident that if I ever have any sort of questions, I could go to anyone for help, and everyone would be super helpful.”
One of her most challenging and rewarding projects has been to lead re-engagement of her team post-pandemic. “It seems the feeling of comradery was lost due to the pandemic, but I’ve seen our team grow closer again through the re-implementation of social events and team building activities. I’ve had a few people come up to me afterwards telling me how much fun they had and that they had missed events like these.”
One fun fact about Mari is that she is a naturalized citizen, born in Mexico but raised in Texas, and is fluent in English and Spanish. Outside of work, she loves going to live music shows and plays the drums occasionally. She also likes going to the movies, playing video games, traveling, and discovering new types of foods and experiences.