Jennifer Childs named VP quality and engineering at Ingalls

Jennifer Childs. [Photo: HII]

HII (NYSE: HII) reports that Jennifer Childs has been named vice president of quality and engineering of the company’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division, effective Jan. 6, 2025.

She succeeds Brian Blanchette, who is to succeed Kari Wilkinson as president of Ingalls Shipbuilding (and become an HII VP) when Wilkinson becomes president of Newport News.

Childs is a former Navy surface warfare officer (nuclear), She has been with Ingalls for 17 years and previously served as director of technical & design engineering. In her new role, she will now be responsible for the management and oversight of quality programs, and of ship design, engineering, integrated logistics support and planning yard engineering.

“Jennifer’s technical acumen is matched by her commitment to developing talent and fostering a culture of innovation within her team,” said Blanchette said. “This well-deserved promotion reflects her exceptional leadership, technical expertise, and commitment to both our mission and the local community.”

In her current role as director of technical & design engineering, Childs has led a team of engineers, designers, and test engineers, overseeing the design, construction, and testing of some of the Navy’s most advanced military ships and the Coast Guard’s national security cutter program.

Childs is a graduate of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Gulf Coast program and an active member of Ingalls’ shipbuilding women engineers (SWE) employee resource group.

She holds a bachelor of science degree in physics from the U.S. Naval Academy and a master’s in business administration from the University of North Florida.