Jim McClelland joins Maxar as VP of Mission Architecture

​Westminister, Colo.,  August 13, 2020 - Maxar Technologies today announced it has hired space industry veteran Jim McClelland to lead its newly established Mission Architecture function. In this leadership position reporting to Maxar CTO Dr. Walter Scott, McClelland will have a role that spans Maxar’s Space Infrastructure and Earth Intelligence businesses to bring the full breadth of the company’s capabilities to bear for its customers. 

McClelland will play a key role in the company’s strategic initiative to diversify the Space Infrastructure business and further penetrate U.S. civil and national security markets, responsible for leading, managing and executing the architecture and satellite system engineering activities for new mission designs.

McClelland most recently served as Chief Technology Innovation Officer at Airbus U.S., Space and Defense. He has also held positions as CTO of OneWeb Satellites LLC; Vice President of Mission Engineering and Operations for Millennium Space Systems; and Vice President of Mission Assurance for Skybox Imaging, Inc. From 1996 to 2011, McClelland was a key contributor to the early success of DigitalGlobe—now part of Maxar—where he served in numerous technical and management roles.

“Jim brings a wealth of experience in the technical and business aspects of Earth observation and communications systems,” said Scott. “From his role in leading enterprise-wide systems engineering efforts for our WorldView satellites to his recent work with the OneWeb spacecraft, he has effectively applied ‘new space’ thinking and breakthrough ideas grounded in sound engineering and an intimate understanding of customers’ missions.”