Steven Schmidt

B.S., Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Connecticut (’93)

M.S., Mechanical Engineering, RPI at Work (‘98)

Steven Schmidt is Vice President and Chief Engineer for the Lockheed Martin Sikorsky Aircraft line of business, providing technical leadership across the full aircraft lifecycle. His experience spans new aircraft concepts, multibillion dollar proposals, contracting, design and development, ground and flight testing, transition into production, aircraft delivery, and long-term fleet support. In this role, Schmidt leads more than 2,300 engineers worldwide who deliver technical solutions for U.S. military, international, and commercial customers.

Prior to becoming Vice President, Schmidt served as Chief Engineer for Sikorsky’s Heavy Lift Program, responsible for the CH53E and CH53K platforms. He was the authoritative technical point of contact between Sikorsky and the United States Government, overseeing all technical aspects of the program. During his tenure, the CH53K achieved major milestones, including entry into Initial Operational Test and Evaluation in August 2021.

After earning his B.S. in chemical and materials engineering from UConn is 1993, Schmidt joined Sikorsky and began assuming formal leadership responsibilities in 2005 as Chief System Engineer for the Canadian Maritime Helicopter Program. In 2009, he was selected as Senior Program Manager for the MH60S helicopter and later assumed responsibility for the MH60R program, overseeing delivery of more than 128 aircraft to the U.S. Navy. He returned to the Canadian program in 2012 as Chief Engineer to support contract restructuring and successful delivery of required capabilities, before serving as Director of Design and later Chief Engineer of the CH53 program in 2018.