Jorge Gonzalez

Mr. Jorge Gonzalez has over 35 years of experience as a civilian engineer in the US Air Force (USAF). He is a recognized subject matter expert in all aspects of aircraft design, development, certification and sustainment with specialized expertise in USAF airworthiness and aircraft structures. His experience spans most major weapon systems in the current USAF inventory—while working for the government, he held critical engineering leadership positions and made major contributions to a diverse array of programs including: F-16 multi-role fighter and its variants, B-1B, F-15, F-100 and F-110 engines, B-2, C-17, Predator A and B, C-130, C-5 and F-22 Raptor. Mr. Gonzalez provided technical and management support to Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), Global Hawk, Airborne Laser and several classified programs and worked on every phase of the acquisition cycle—from YF-22 and YF-23 concept exploration and demonstration validation to B-1B, C-17, F-22 and F-16 engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) to C-5, C-130, C-17, B-1B, F-15, and F-16 production and sustainment.

• As the USAF’s Technical Airworthiness Authority (TAA), provided independent airworthiness determinations for the USAF’s 5,400+ aircraft fleet and approved service life extensions, saving over $250B in aircraft replacement costs.
• As the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) director of engineering, was responsible for providing qualified engineering and technical management resources (organize, train, and equip responsibilities) to all AFLCMC program executive officer (PEO) programs.
• Served as the principal technical advisor to the AFLCMC Commander with primary responsibility for all matters concerning the USAF Scientific Advisory Board and product assurance.
• Hand-picked by Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) leadership to co-lead the reformation of the scientist and engineer workforce from twelve to five centers in an unprecedented reorganization.
• Government lead for the Predator/Hellfire demonstration team, weaponizing an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for the first time in history.
• Served as the team lead for an independent review team (IRT) on a highly publicized F-15 mishap due to a structural failure. Reviewed first order accounts of the canopy sill longeron failure, a primary structural member of the forward fuselage and the root cause of the catastrophic F-15 structural failure.

• Director, Engineering and Technical Management and USAF Airworthiness TAA, AFLCMC/EN-EZ
• Director, Engineering and Technical Management, WRALC
• Technical Director/Director of Engineering, 402nd Maintenance Wing, WRALC
• Technical Director, HQ AFMC/EN
• Director of Engineering, Agile Combat Support Systems Wing
• Chief Engineer and Air Vehicle IPT Co-Lead, C-17 Program
• Airframe IPT Co-Lead, F-22 Program

• MS, Aerospace Engineering, University of Dayton
• MBA, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
• BS, Civil Engineering, University of Puerto Rico