Smith Named Director of Columbia-class Sub Program

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) announced Brandi Smith has been named program director of the Newport News Columbia-class submarine program.

Smith will be responsible for leading the company’s construction activities for the U.S. Navy’s new class of ballistic-missile submarines, as well as maintaining strong relationships with General Dynamics Electric Boat and Navy customers. She will report to Jason Ward, Newport News vice president for Columbia-class submarine construction.

Smith began her career at Newport News in 2002 as an engineer in the carrier overhaul program. She has held positions of increasing responsibility throughout her career, including interim director of construction engineering for the Ford-class, engineering lead for Integrated Digital Shipbuilding (iDS), and most recently director of quality control responsible for all nuclear, non-nuclear, and non-destructive testing (NDT) inspectors.

Smith holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from North Carolina State University and a Master of Business Administration degree from the College of William & Mary.