Name: Steve
Years at Lockheed Martin: almost 2 years
What is your current position? Senior Reliability Engineer
What are your day-to-day responsibilities? I am responsible for my program’s Production Failure Reporting Analysis and Corrective Action System (FRACAS) for elements of our product. I generate pedigree reports for test flights as well as interface with Sustainment to address any field failures that relate to past production issues.
Can you tell us about your skills in model building?
I’ve been building scale models since I was 15 years old. My interest was sparked when he went to a local hobby shop and the store had a display case with these miniature works of art. I wanted to build model airplanes that looked like those model airplanes. My first model was an F-16A Fighting Falcon.
When I was finished, it looked like an F-16, but it didn’t look like those models in the display case. I discovered a scale model club in my hometown. These people showed me the skills and techniques, following instructions, patience and attention to detail to take a model kit and turn it into a work of art.
I’ve applied my scale modeling skills: following instructions, patience and attention to detail to my career. As a former aircraft maintainer these skills are important to ensure aircraft are safe, repaired properly and mission ready. As a reliability engineer, I use these skills to drive down to the root cause of a problem so that the issue is resolved, and a better product is produced.
I’ve built lots of scale models since 1986. Most of them being aircraft and sci-fi spacecraft (I’m a big Star Wars fan). My work has been featured on various scale modeling websites, but my dream was to have one of my models featured in a national magazine. Finally, in 2015. My dream came true when my C-130H was featured as the cover story in the April/May 2015 Issue of the International Plastic Modelers Society Journal.
If you’re interested in scale modeling, visit the following websites: Aircraft Resource Center, Modeling Madness, Hyperscale or iModeler websites. Who knows, you might see some of my work on those sites.
Do you have a strong attention to detail and enjoy problem solving? If so, a career at Lockheed Martin might be for you. Click here to search for position in your area.