Superintendent of Production Engineering and Facilities, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard

Adam Henckler is the Superintendent of Production Engineering and Facilities (Code 980) Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine.

Originally from Bangor, Maine, Adam received his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Maine in 2001, specializing in structural engineering. That same year, he began his professional career at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in the Structural Engineering Division (Code 250), working on primary structures and hull repair calculations.

After being stuck in Orlando, Florida, for three days following his honeymoon in 2005, Adam and his wife Laura decided to take a chance at new careers. They moved to the Orlando area in late 2005, where Adam began as an engineering intern for Bentley Architects and Engineers. He received his professional engineering license a short time later and was quickly promoted through the company to Vice President of the Structural Engineering Department and partner.

After starting a family, Adam sought an opportunity to reduce his work hours, so he returned to federal service in 2009 and became the Senior Facilities Manager for the F-18 and F-35 flight simulator programs at the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division in Orlando.

After the birth of their second child, the family decided to return to Maine to be closer to family, and Adam returned to Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, working in Code 250 for a short time. He then began a transition into training and development, moving on to stand up the training branch for the Engineering and Training Department (Code 200). In 2016, he was selected to be the Administrative Division Head for Code 200, where we oversaw training, quality, resources, recruiting, and integrated logistics for the department.

Following his graduation from NAVSEA’s Executive Development Program in late 2022, Adam took on his current role as the Superintendent of Production Engineering & Facilities.

Adam is the chairperson of the Engineering Advisory Board for the University of Southern Maine as well as a member of the Civil Engineering Advisory Board for the University of Maine. He was a 2023 TEDx Editor’s Pick for his talk titled, “why mentorship needs a rebrand for Generation Z.” Adam was a keynote speaker at the 2024 Federal Managers Association National Convention with his presentation titled. “Generation Why” and again in 2025 with “Influence in a Changing Workforce.” He currently lives in Cape Neddick, Maine with his wife and two children, Alyssa and Cameron.

Adam continues to dedicate his personal and professional time to working on people to find the best in everyone. You can follow his development journey at AdamHenckler.com.