James H. Howland

The Howland Company was an engineering firm my father launched in 1975. The company was active in the aerospace & defense, wireless, and telecom industries. Customers included all branches of the US military, other government agencies, and corporate clients including Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Qualcomm, L3 Harris, Apple, Motorola, Tesla, and SpaceX

The systems I worked on included Radar Cross Section (“stealth”) measurement facilities for the F-22, F-35, B-2, and other weapons systems; DoD Installed System Test Facilities; and unique test systems and facilities supporting a range of US and allied weapons systems

As a very small business, job descriptions were fluid—each team member performed several functions simultaneously. My principal areas of responsibility included Technical Writing, Systems Engineering Support, and Business Development:

• Developed detailed requirements for system documentation
• Researched technical literature; interviewed subject matter experts; and observed activities such as production, testing, and development to obtain required information
• Prepared documentation: product data, test plans and procedures, installation and checkout procedures, equipment manuals, operating and maintenance instructions, website copy, conference papers and presentations, policy manuals, technical reports, specifications, et al
• Wrote and validated technical manuals in accordance with MIL-STD-38784, MIL-PRF-87929, MIL-PRF-38807, and ANSI Z535.6
• Prepared technical illustrations: Visio, photography, pen and ink
• Maintained the company’s technical library and our archive of engineering, project, and R&D records: nearly five hundred project files spanning over 40 years
• Edited and formatted changes to material prepared by engineering and technical staff
• Experienced with basic office suite software: Word, Excel, Visio, Acrobat
• Assisted with system requirements definition, evaluated system requirements documents
• Assessed system/component compliance with requirements and regulatory documents
• Collaborated with customer engineers to manage configuration management programs and test article (aircraft and weapons systems) interface and handling issues
• Facilitated technical reviews: PDR/CDR, technical interchange, system safety reviews
• Managed configuration management, system safety, and human engineering programs
• Reviewed federal and commercial contracts and RFPs, made go/no-go recommendations
• Managed proposal development, often in cooperation with joint venture partners
• Interacted with clients and vendors to maintain long-standing relationships and pursue emerging opportunities
• Represented the company at trade shows and symposia