Chris Hill

Experience

• 

  Royal Australian Air Force

  Jan 2002 - Dec 2007

  Aircraft Technician – Multiple Positions (Operational & Deeper Maintenance)
• 

  Royal Australian Air Force

  Nov 2010 - Dec 2013

  Project Lead – Multiple Positions (Technical & Commercial)
• 

  Naval Air Station Pax River

  Jan 2014 - Jul 2016

  Certification Manager – New Aircraft Acquisition

  Responsible for the successful completion of all aspects of the EA-18G Certification Program Plan (CPP), including the expansion of extant F/A-18F Super Hornet engineering management and system safety programs to encapsulate Growler. Notable Achievements• Developed, implemented, and managed all aspects of EA-18G Type Certification, recommending initial operations under Special Flight Permit and later, Australian Military Type Certification.• Critically reviewed Defence Aviation Safety Authority initial drafting of Type Certification and Design Acceptance regulations during the transition from TAREG to DASR, with several recommendations incorporated aimed at enabling projects greater flexibility to tailor CPPs based on individual circumstances and available data. Show less

• 

  Naval Air Station Whidbey Island

  Jul 2016 - Feb 2017

  Project Engineering Manager – New Aircraft Acquisition

  Responsible for overall engineering management, initial design acceptance certification and Commonwealth receipt of the EA-18G Growler weapon system. Notable Achievements• Developed, communicated and oversaw the approval of a revised project design acceptance strategy within three months of assuming the role and two years after initial release.• Appointed as the Commonwealth Representative responsible for development and oversight of the acceptance test program and subsequent aircraft acceptance on behalf of Australia from the United States Government. Show less

• 

  US Navy

  Feb 2017 - Jan 2018

  Root Cause Corrective Action Lead – Physiological Episodes

  Placed on exchange within the United States Navy, Naval Air Systems Command above rank and responsible for one of seven lines of a Root Cause Corrective Action (RCCA) investigation into fast jet aircrew Physiological Episodes (PE), Australia’s number one airworthiness issue at the time.• Rapidly developed SME level understanding of fast jet environmental control and breathing air systems and then utilised this knowledge to establish a process to determine if contamination was a root cause, including the amalgamation of F/A-18, EA-18G and T-45 lines of investigation providing substantial resource efficiencies. • Collation and dissemination of coherent guidance and support to align US domestic and foreign research and development portfolios, including the successful deployment of prototype air quality capture systems on the USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) during carrier operations in the Pacific and subsequent toxicological analysis. • Established, empowered and led an international team comprising of RAAF, USN, NASA, US Air Force Research Labs, US Navy Medical Research Unit and industry aviation and medical experts to execute the RCCA effort culminating in closure of the contamination branch of the investigation and the nomination of several awards. Show less

• 

  Royal Australian Air Force

  Jan 2018 - now

  Responsible for the day to day execution of individual project and program activities on behalf of the program manager. This includes definition and stakeholder engagement of project scopes, objectives and budgets; developing, analysing and negotiating tenders and contracts; resource allocation, quality control and requirements verification in a politically charged and resources constrained environment.Notable Achievements• Led the development and communication of a multi-year statement of work for the next phase of a collaborative aircraft development program, and subsequent successful negotiation of an AUD$ 100 + million contract.• Developed and implemented a workforce strategy to enable Air Force to strengthen sovereign aerospace development capability, increase program influence and grow skilled resources to support future Teaming Air System acquisitions in the order of $AUD 8-11 billion via targeted industry placements. Show less Responsible for engineering and logistics aspects of the F-35A Joint Strike Fighter acquisition with regard to maintenance and survivability. This included development and delivery of fundamental inputs to capability required to maintain and upgrade the Low Observable (LO) characteristics of a fifth-generation fighter, in addition to supporting a wider range of Australian F-35A engineering, maintenance and fleet management systems.Notable Achievements• Led a review of AIR6000 Phase 2A/B Material Acquisition Agreement (MAA) maintenance and survivability requirements in light of evolving RAAF CONOPS, F-35 Program of Record (PoR) and non-PoR technologies. • Developed and implemented updated Phase 2/B MAA milestones and supported development of Australian Phase 2C and UK MoD capability definition documentation as a subject matter expert for LO technologies. Show less Responsible for developing and maintaining technical systems, controls, processes, and tools for the directorate of Air Force technical capability. This included managing program and project documentation, performance and risk management reviews as well as the secretariate for the O-6 / O-7 Air Force technical executive forum. Notable Achievements• Reviewed individual Force Element Group execution of improvement programs and advised key stakeholders of risks and opportunities with regard to compliance, efficiencies and quality controls.• Developed the Air Force Maintenance Productivity Improvement Program closure and transition report for Chief of Air Force signature, detailing 10+ years of improvements programs and projects covering all aspects of the maintenance capability including training, tooling, transport, processes, people and culture. Show less

  • Deputy Program Manager – Loyal Wingman Advanced Development Program

    Jul 2020 - now

  • Project Manager – F-35 Maintenance and Survivability

    Jul 2018 - Jul 2020

  • Staff Officer – Maintenance Productivity Improvement Program

    Jan 2018 - Jul 2018