Chris Newman

About Chris Newman

With 20+ years of experience as a leader in business operations, I have been integral to leading engineering efforts while focusing on resource management from a leadership perspective. It is my passion to influence employee retention, talent management & professional growth, & provide strategic direction while developing key relationships. Across my robust career, I have consistently been able to exceed organizational expectations through budget management, multi-site operations management, & delivering optimal results through forward-thinking technical leadership.Key Achievements Include: Lead a diverse engineering and technical team encompassing 3 departments, growing the team from 35 to 200+, overseeing design, development, operations of instrumentation systems, and data management at the Edwards Air Force Base, fostering a positive work environment, producing quality engineering work, and increasing business while maintaining customer satisfaction Manage a $40M+ annual budget, deploying numerous innovations and process improvements, including implementation of recruiting techniques, retention techniques and innovative technical improvements Supervised engineering instrumentation operations and built the team from 5 to 35 by strategically recruiting and hiring skilled engineers in a competitive aerospace marketOversaw the design, development, and integration of a Refueling Simulation Tool (RST) for the USAF, delivering the project with a $2M initial influential cost-savings as well as saving $300-500K every time RST is used in ongoing test programs. I would like to speak with like-minded professionals. Contact me through this profile if you wish to connect.

Experience

1. Director of Engineering & Operations

   JT4

   Jun 2015 — Present · Edwards, CA, US

   Lead a diverse engineering and technical team encompassing 3 departments, growing the team from 35 to 200+, overseeing design, development, operations of instrumentation systems, armament, and data analysis and management at the Edwards Air Force Base, fostering a positive work environment, producing quality engineering work, and increasing business while maintaining customer satisfaction• Managed a $40M+ budget, deploying numerous innovations and process improvements, including implementation of recruiting and retention techniques, innovative technical engineering and operations improvements, increased training and agile project management implementation. These efforts resulting in over $9M cost savings across 5 years and <1% variance between estimates and actuals• Oversaw the design, development, and integration of a Refueling Simulation Tool (RST) for the USAF, delivering the project with a $2M initial influential cost-savings as well as saving $300-500K every time RST is used in ongoing test programs• Mentored 20+ technical team members, helping to achieve top-tier leadership positions, utilizing a newly-acquired skill set of positive interpersonal communication, offering feedback, constructive criticism, and support, leading to individual and team improvement and success• Negotiated and managed multiple multi-million-dollar subcontracts, overseeing each project from concept to delivery, strengthening relationships, and generating revenue for the organization• Created an Employee Retention Program, identifying and compensating crucial employees, ensuring retention, and increasing employee productivity. This retention program has been been over 98% effective in retaining highly skilled mission critical employees since its inception 5 years ago, as well as reduced turnover rate from 15% to just over 1%

Education

• California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo

  B.S., Mechanical Engineering

  1998 — 2002

• Liberty University

  Master of Business Administration - MBA, Business Administration and Management, General