One of Naval Air System’s Command’s (NAVAIR) newest Senior Executive Service (SES) members is leading the charge in all things Propulsion And Power. Antonio Miguelez leads nearly 600 naval scientists and engineers and has responsibility for full life-cycle support of NAVAIR’s air-breathing propulsion and power systems for U.S. Navy and Marine Corps aircraft. He directly manages and substantially influences annual budgets totaling more than $1.8 billion.
Director of the Propulsion and Power Engineering Department (AIR-4.4), Miguelez was promoted to NAVAIR’s SES ranks in January, but his roots in that professional community go back more than 30 years. He began his career in 1980 as a Co-op student, testing jet-engine components at the Naval Air Propulsion Center in Trenton, N.J. He then transferred to Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., in 1996 as the Navy realigned and closed several bases. Coincident to these base realignments, NAVAIR transitioned to a Competency aligned organization and AIR-4.4 as we know it today was established. From 1996 through April 2009 Miguelez held several supervisory and leadership positions within the department each of increasing responsibility.
When Miguelez accepted a position in the Pentagon in December 2010, he was Director, Research and Engineering Group for the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD).
Three years later, the new SES is settling into his new role. He shared his views on leadership and progress of a vital upcoming project, the Naval Power, Avionics and Thermal (NPATH) Initiative.
What are your thoughts on being the leader of your department?
I’m proud and honored to have been selected for the position, and extremely excited. The work done here encompasses many engineering and science disciplines focused on propelling and powering aircraft, Propulsion and Power includes air-breathing engines of many types, drive systems, electrical power generation and distribution, aviation fuels and lubricants and engineering specialties such as ,structural integrity, performance modelling, reliability analysis and testing of propulsion and power components and systems. First and most fundamentally, we work to ensure our systems are safe. Some of the hardware we are responsible for includes rotating life-limited parts. Our job is to make sure that the limits we put on those parts have the proper safety margins. Exceeding the limit is unsafe and retiring parts below their limits is expensive so getting the analysis right is critical. Leading the talent that makes it all happen is just amazing and a great feeling.
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