Eric Ruud
Merritt Island,FL
Summary
Project leader with extensive experience at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, specializing in program management and strategic planning. Delivered multimillion-dollar projects focused on compliance and quality assurance. Expertise in team building and collaboration across various roles and disciplines. Committed to driving innovation and enhancing guest experiences.
Overview
22
22
years of professional experience
Work History
Director of Project Development
Delaware North
Kennedy Space Center, FL
12.2023 - Current
- Lead Delaware North's concept, design, and construction management team, serving NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.
- Act as an owner's representative for NASA for a multitude of projects, up to and including $100 million new guest experiences.
- Ensure strict adherence to NASA standards, including environmental, life safety, and engineering review requirements.
- Work with cross-functional and executive team leads during the design and construction phases to ensure project success.
Director of Information Technology
Delaware North
Kennedy Space Center, FL
08.2019 - Current
- Manage all IT infrastructure and operations for NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex that services over 2 million guests per year.
- Provide leadership to teams of developers, systems experts, and varied groups of technical staff during the design of various types of hardware and technology solutions and applications.
- Collaborated with stakeholders on large-scale multimillion-dollar public-facing projects, including the aforementioned $50M Gateway to Space facility that includes interactive and electro-mechanical ride systems.
- Drive efforts to identify and meet technology needs.
- Ensure compliance with IT project requirements and specifications.
Senior Project Manager
Iowa 80 Group, Inc.
Walcott, IA
02.2019 - 08.2019
- Led all facets of an IT infrastructure deployment project for a 1,200+ employee company serving the transportation industry.
- Established project scope and objectives while identifying strategies to improve value and business sustainability.
- Monitored and reported project status.
- Promptly addressed and resolved project-related issues/problems.
Technical Services Manager
CAT Scale Company
Walcott, IA
01.2013 - 02.2019
- Oversaw functions involving scheduling, training, quality assurance, and cost analysis while leading software development projects.
- Determined custom integration requirements for both PC-based and embedded architecture devices.
- Developed the first-ever patented mobile weighing application.
- Headed efforts to maintain brand visibility and improve customer experiences.
- Held role of project lead for the development and deployment of a $5M system modernization initiative.
- Led the creation of multi-scale controller systems containing Point-of-Scale functionality, predictive failure notifications, status reporting, image capture, voice prompts, and remote diagnostics.
- Co-developed a custom office suite of back-of-house applications tailored to business needs.
- Managed and maintained equipment resources.
Equipment Systems Manager
CAT Scale Company
Walcott, IA
01.2004 - 01.2013
Education
Associate of Science (A.S.) - Electronics Engineering Technology
Hamilton Technical College
Davenport, IASkills
- Program management and project oversight
- Budgeting and forecasting
- Quality assurance and compliance
- Strategic planning and innovation
- Conceptual design and construction processes
- Interpersonal communication skills
- Systems and mobile application design
- Electronics and networking expertise
- Marketing support and product development
- Failure analysis and systems integration
- Team building and collaboration
- Microsoft Office 365 proficiency
- VMware administration and Windows Server management
- Cisco IOS configuration and MSSQL database management
- Azure cloud services and Procore expertise
- Smartsheet and Bluebeam proficiency
- Navisworks application knowledge
Community Service
Volunteer Instructor, Junior Achievement USA
Software Technologies
- Microsoft Office 365 Suite
- VMware
- Windows Server 20XX
- Aruba/HPE
- Cisco IOS
- MSSQL
- MS Azure
- Jira
- Qualys
- Confluence
- Procore
- Bluebeam
- Navisworks
- Autodesk
Patents
- U.S. Patent, 20060052980
- U.S. Patent, 20140019338
- Canadian Patent, CA2491116C
- Canadian Patent, CA2798939A1
- Canadian Patent, CA2783481C
Timeline
Director of Project Development
Delaware North
12.2023 - Current
Director of Information Technology
Delaware North
08.2019 - Current
Senior Project Manager
Iowa 80 Group, Inc.
02.2019 - 08.2019
Technical Services Manager
CAT Scale Company
01.2013 - 02.2019
Equipment Systems Manager
CAT Scale Company
01.2004 - 01.2013
Associate of Science (A.S.) - Electronics Engineering Technology
Hamilton Technical College