Lee Cundiff
Bloomington,Indiana
Summary
Lee Cundiff is an Explosives Safety Engineer and former Ranger qualified USAF EOD Team Leader with 15+ years of experience developing and validating system-of-systems mission workflows, digital hazard models, and scenario-based analyses for USAF, SOCOM, NATO, NSWC Crane, and Multinational partner forces.
He specializes in mission thread decomposition, blast and fragmentation effects modeling, risk-to-mission/risk-to-forces assessment, scenario design, and systems engineering, with technical proficiency in ESS, Python, MATLAB, Mathcad, SysML, ArcGIS, and CAD.
He holds an M.S. in Engineering Management, Graduate Certificates in Systems Engineering and Business Management, a B.S. in Physics, as well as prior TS/SCI clearance.
He excels at leading multidisciplinary teams and designing high-fidelity operational scenarios that support virtual wargaming, RDT&E, and mission-performance prediction across joint, multinational, and classified environments.
Overview
16
16
years of professional experience
Work History
Explosives Safety Engineer
SAIC
07.2023 - Current
- Performed 32 qualitative Risk Assessments, modeling multi-threat risk-to-mission and risk-to-force factors supporting SOCOM and Navy RDT&E. Delivered simulation-informed analyses protecting 100% of installation personnel while sustaining $600M+ technical capabilities.
- Developed, processed, and analyzed 150+ Explosives Safety projects, serving as NSWC Crane’s lead Strategic Facilities Explosives Safety Engineer and technical advisor for MILCON, RDT&E, and operations support projects.
- Identified multiple modeling discrepancies in OP 5, Rev 8, including 2 critical oversights and 18 modeling-assumption errors; findings were escalated to NOSSA’s Explosion Effects & Consequences Division Chief, prompting reevaluation of scientific basis for DoD-wide explosive effects modeling.
- Engineered Tier-1 Operational Risk Acceptance packages, drafting technical arguments, mitigations, and model-based justification for high-priority missions; one CNO-level waiver approved, one currently in routing.
- Operated Explosives Siting Software (ESS) daily to model blast effects, fragmentation, propagation hazards, structural exposure, and personnel risk — delivering simulation-based decision support for high-consequence facility planning and mission configuration.
- Integrated GIS, ArcGIS, and AutoCAD to produce geospatial hazard models, QD overlays, risk maps, and exposure visualizations for RDT&E and MILCON engineering teams.
- Applied SysML and systems engineering principles to decompose mission workflows, model operational constraints, and validate end-to-end facility and mission architectures.
Technical Advisor, EOD
Bomb Techs Without Borders
03.2022 - 07.2023
- Conducted 200+ explosive hazard operations with Ukrainian security forces, including post-blast analysis, threat modeling, and evidence collection supporting war crime investigations and humanitarian de-mining.
- Performed render-safe and disposal operations with Kyiv’s National Police, neutralizing 90,000+ Russian munitions in dense urban environments and preventing large-scale civilian casualties.
- Delivered Explosive Ordnance Reconnaissance instruction to 85+ Ukrainian police officers across four Oblasts, developing scalable hazard-identification methodologies and risk-mitigation workflows.
- Executed humanitarian clearance procedures producing real-world effects data relevant to environmental hazard modeling and threat characterization.
- Strengthened partner-nation interoperability through joint scenario development, render-safe methodology optimization, and multi-agency coordination.
Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Team Leader
United States Air Force
11.2009 - 03.2022
- Led mission engineering and scenario decomposition for thousands of explosive hazard operations across 20+ countries, supporting OIR/ODR-II, SOCOM, AFSOC, EUCOM, AFRICOM, and USSTRATCOM mission sets.
- Designed and validated system-of-systems operational workflows, integrating air, ground, SOF, intelligence, and CBRNE threat channels into unified mission threads for joint and coalition operations.
- Created, orchestrated, and evaluated large-scale scenario-based training events, including multi-day wargaming-style exercises (20+ scenarios), breaching courses, counter-IED/air-launch mission simulations, and SOF capstone exercises.
- Executed verification & validation of render-safe procedures, hazard models, survivability constraints, standoff distances, and mission-critical safety envelopes across tactical, operational, and strategic environments.
- Integrated with joint and coalition forces (SEALs, ODAs, PJs, CCT, NATO partners, host-nation militaries) to align mission requirements, threat models, and operational architecture across multi-domain operations.
- Selected for NASA robotics integration, collaborating with multi-agency R&D teams on $38M autonomous systems programs; contributed to acquisition architecture through prototype evaluation.
- Led nuclear surety mission engineering, resulting in flawless Nuclear Surety Inspection reports, dual-Launch Site mission integration, and risk-based response architecture validation.
- Engineered a 3D-printed reconnaissance tool (“Quick-Right”) reducing time-on-target by 75% with .5mm precision — an M&S-aligned validation of prototype workflow modeling.
Education
Master of Science - Engineering Management & Leadership
Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN12-2025
Bachelor's Degree - Physics, Minor in Mathematics
Cleveland State University
Cleveland, OH05.2023
Associate of Applied Sciences - Explosive Ordnance Disposal
Community College of The Air Force
Montgomery, AL05.2015
Skills
- Active DoD Secret Clearance
- Prior TS/SCI (Eligible for Reinstatement)
- Graduate Certificates in Systems Engineering and Business Management
- Senior Enlisted Joint Professional Military Education
- Army Ranger School
- Nuclear Surety Certifications
- SysML/Model-Based Systems Engineering Experience
- Python/MATLAB Analytical Coursework
Timeline
Explosives Safety Engineer
SAIC
07.2023 - Current
Technical Advisor, EOD
Bomb Techs Without Borders
03.2022 - 07.2023
Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Team Leader
United States Air Force
11.2009 - 03.2022
Master of Science - Engineering Management & Leadership
Purdue University
Bachelor's Degree - Physics, Minor in Mathematics
Cleveland State University
Associate of Applied Sciences - Explosive Ordnance Disposal
Community College of The Air Force