What the First Ninety Days on a New Program Actually Look Like
Week One Is Not About Answers Every time I join a new program, somebody wants a plan by Friday. A schedule, a risk list, an opinion on the architecture. I understand the instinct. Leadership wants to see that the new person is already pulling weight. I resist it anyway. The first few weeks are for […]
The Requirements Document I Used to Trust Too Much
A Belief I Held for Years Early in my career, I thought a requirements document was the thing that saved a program. Write it carefully enough, get every stakeholder to sign it, and the design that follows just has to satisfy what is written down. I spent a lot of hours making sure every requirement […]
Two Trade Studies, Same Problem, Very Different Results
Two Trade Studies, Same Problem I have had two engineers hand me trade studies on the same week, comparing the same two options, built from the same data. One document told me exactly what to do next. The other told me nothing I could act on. Same inputs, same conclusion even, but one was useful […]
The Question No One Asks Before the Design Review
A Question That Gets Skipped Walk into most design reviews and you will hear the same questions. Does it meet the requirement? Does it pass the test? Is it on schedule? Those are fair questions. But there is one I rarely hear anyone ask out loud: who has to live with this after we are […]
What I Got Wrong Early On, and What I Do Differently Now
The mistake I made for years Early in my career, I thought my job was to be right. Someone would bring me a design problem, and I would go build a model, run the numbers, and come back with an answer. If the answer was defensible, I considered the job done. That worked, for a […]
Advances in Space Systems Integration and Mission Reliability
When people think about space exploration, they often picture rocket launches or satellites orbiting Earth. Those moments are exciting, but they represent years of engineering work that happens long before a vehicle ever leaves the ground. Throughout my career, I have had the opportunity to work on complex aerospace programs, beginning with modeling and simulation […]
Lessons from Working Inside National Laboratories on High-Stakes Engineering Problems
I grew up in Loveland, Colorado in a family where engineering was just part of everyday life. Everyone in my immediate family was an engineer, so problem solving and technical thinking were always around me. At the same time, I was drawn to the mountains more than the classroom. I competed nationally and internationally in […]
The Future of Space Vehicle Design in the Commercial Space Era
Space vehicle design is entering a completely new era. When I started my career, space systems were primarily built for government missions with long timelines, extremely high cost structures, and very narrow use cases. Today, the commercial space industry is reshaping everything. The pace is faster, the goals are broader, and the expectations are very […]