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John Schmelzle, PE

Mechanical Engineer
NAVAIR

John Schmelzle, a native of Massapequa, NY, earned his B.E. in Mechanical Engineering from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and joined the Naval Air Engineering Center in 1986.

In 2008, Mr. Schmelzle entered the NAVAIR Leadership Development Program, where he became a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. During the NLDP, he led several teams to increase the efficiency of business processes at the Naval Air Warfare Center. His accomplishments include establishing the only accredited Product Lifecycle Management system at NAVAIR, completely revising the design processes at NAWCAD Lakehurst, and introducing the first additive manufacturing equipment to the center.

Upon graduating, he was selected as the head of the Design & Analysis Branch. Later, he became the NAWCAD Lakehurst Additive Manufacturing and Model Based Definition Initiative Lead, focusing on 3D printing to meet urgent fleet needs.

Mr. Schmelzle has received the NAWCAD Commander’s Award five times, was the NAWCAD Innovation Winner in 2014, and was NAVAIR’s Federal Engineer of the Year in 2013. He's a licensed professional engineer in New Jersey.

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