Derek Starling Sr. is a licensed Professional Engineer, Fellow of the Society of American Military Engineers, and Principal Analyst at Crucible Insight. He holds PMP and CQE certifications and brings more than two decades of engineering leadership in defense industrial base operations, quality systems, and advanced manufacturing technology.

His operational background spans Army depot sustainment at Anniston Army Depot, additive manufacturing fielding programs, and high-performance computing research infrastructure under the DoD High Performance Computing Modernization Program (HPCMP). He has led technical programs at the boundary of manufacturing process engineering and military readiness — work that identifies gaps that theoretical analysis misses because it never had to function at the depot floor.

At Crucible Insight, Mr. Starling leads the Advanced Manufacturing and Depot and Industrial Base research domains. His publications examine the digital thread for forward AM deployment, depot-to-field integration, and the quality engineering disciplines required to sustain military systems at War Reserve Material standards. He writes for program managers, depot commanders, and acquisition professionals who operate where engineering and policy intersect.

Domains: Advanced Manufacturing • Depot and Industrial Base
Credentials: PE • PMP • CQE • F.SAME