Dr. Chris Hales is an engineering leader, project manager, and systems engineering practitioner with over 10 years of post-Ph.D. experience delivering complex projects. His career combines strong technical foundations with proven leadership in multidisciplinary environments, enabling the successful delivery of systems and products across their full life cycle.
Chris provides consulting and interim management services in systems engineering, project management, and organizational improvement, supporting clients facing complex, high-stakes challenges, including in the defense sector.
Previously, Chris held senior roles at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) in the United States, an organization of approximately 500 staff that serves the US and global scientific community. As Deputy Division Head within the Electronics Engineering Division, he supported the leadership and management of 81 engineers and technicians responsible for operations, maintenance, and R&D associated with complex electronics systems used in continentally-distributed radio telescope facilities. Chris concurrently served as Engineering Group Lead for the Systems Group, where he was responsible for supervision and development of a multidisciplinary team, as well as leadership and oversight of systems engineering, project management, and process improvement activities across the division.
As a systems engineer, Chris has led major engineering initiatives, including serving as lead systems engineer for a US$4M project to upgrade critical electronics systems across multiple antenna sites in the United States. He was responsible for the strategy, tailoring, and management of the systems engineering effort, including requirements management, system architecture, interface definition, trade studies, integration, verification, validation, and transition to operations.
Chris has also led key work packages for the planned 263-antenna US$2B ngVLA telescope spanning North America, including the development of system-level calibration requirements and the conceptual design of novel instrumentation to correct for atmospheric distortions, working closely with engineers, scientists, organizational leadership, and stakeholders worldwide.
Earlier roles included scientific research and academic positions, including internationally competitive fellowships and teaching responsibilities, alongside experience in software development and spacecraft support engineering.
Chris holds a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D., Astrophysics) and a Bachelor of Science (Physics) from the University of Sydney, and a Bachelor of Engineering (Aerospace, First Class Honours and University Medal) from the University of New South Wales. He is a Chartered Professional Engineer (CPEng), a Project Management Professional (PMP), and an INCOSE Certified Systems Engineering Professional (CSEP). He also holds Systems Modelling Professional (SysML MBF) certification.
Beyond his professional work, Chris enjoys cooking and the outdoors. He is currently volunteering as the inaugural chairperson of the Oceania Chapter within the Marie Curie Alumni Association (MCAA) for a two-year term (2026-28).