Engineering depth
More than a decade across shipboard operations, naval shipyards, nuclear platforms, federal nuclear programs, and fleet maintenance.
Engineering · Operations · Public Service · Mission Building
Kyle
Arestivo
Engineering and program leader bringing technical depth, operational judgment, and founder-level execution to complex missions—from naval readiness and nuclear programs to nonprofit growth and organizational capacity.
10+ yearsEngineering & operational leadership
$400K+Nonprofit gross revenue built
GS-13Prior federal technical leadership
LCDR · O-4U.S. Navy Reserve
01 / Professional overview
One career.
Three arenas.
Kyle’s career connects high-consequence engineering, enterprise program execution, and mission-driven organization building. The common thread is disciplined leadership: understand the system, align the people, and build the structure required to deliver.
Enterprise leadership
GS-13 federal service, Navy Reserve command-level support, complex stakeholder alignment, and executive decision support.
Mission building
Founder-level nonprofit and advisory experience turning purpose into governance, funding readiness, operating systems, and durable impact.
02 / Career experience
Built across the full mission lifecycle.
From operating and testing complex machinery to leading programs, advising federal decision-makers, building a nonprofit, and developing new ventures.
Mar 2025 — Present
Port Engineer
T-Solutions · Norfolk, Virginia
Designated TYCOM and Commanding Officer representative for off-ship maintenance, repair, modernization, and availability execution. Lead day-to-day readiness integration for USS Bainbridge, USS Laboon, and USS Cole across ship’s force, Regional Maintenance Centers, planning yards, technical authorities, and contractors.
Earned Port Engineer Level III / CSPE in the first year and a top overall performance rating of 5, including top marks for project management, collaboration, deliverables, and 90x90 CSMP execution.
Jun 2015 — Present
Strategic Sealift Officer · LCDR (O-4)
U.S. Navy Reserve / Military Sealift Command
Serve as N6 Information Technology & Communications Department Head supporting MSC Headquarters, the Maritime Global Operations Center, and Battle Watch Captain station. Previously selected for a competitive active-duty Strategic Sealift Officer Program Office staff billet.
Supported Turbo Challenge 2026 as a top contributor to DSM, DMO, and Dry Cargo / Tanker operations while maintaining Navy and merchant-mariner readiness.
Sep 2025 — Present
Technical AI Evaluation Consultant
Mercor Intelligence & micro1 · Part-time
Develop, review, and quality-assure AI-enabled technical tasks and outputs in nuclear engineering, reactor operations, and real-world engineering workflows, assessing accuracy, realism, safety, and decision usefulness.
Combines high-consequence engineering judgment with structured AI evaluation and occupational-review methods.
Aug 2022 — Mar 2025
Nuclear Engineering Technician (0801), GS-13
U.S. Department of Energy Headquarters
Managed and evaluated federal program activities under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act involving Standard Contract claims between the U.S. Government and nuclear utilities. Served as technical advisor to the Office of General Counsel, Inspector General, Department of Justice, GAO, and Congress.
Integrated engineering, cost, schedule, contract, claims, and risk evidence into defensible recommendations supporting executive decisions and realized federal cost savings.
Sep 2017 — Aug 2022
Nuclear Engineer / Shift Test Engineer & Supervisor (0840), GS-13
Norfolk Naval Shipyard · Portsmouth, Virginia
Led safe testing, maintenance, and alterations on shipboard nuclear reactor platforms during complex surface-ship and submarine overhauls. Integrated engineering, planning, production, testing, quality, ship’s force, and technical-authority teams through return to service.
Qualified as a NAVSEA 08 S6G and Moored Training Ship Nuclear Shift Test Engineer and performed Assistant STE, STE, and Shift Test Supervisor duties.
Apr 2019 — Dec 2025
Founder, President & Administrative Programs Director
Trails of Purpose · Veteran-service 501(c)(3)
Built and led a mission-driven nonprofit from startup to more than $400,000 in gross revenue over six years, developing board governance, budgets, fundraising and grant pipelines, partnerships, programs, SOPs, CRM workflows, and no-cost services for military families.
Created the operating infrastructure—technology, KPI / OKR reporting, risk controls, partner communications, and volunteer coordination—that turned a founding idea into a sustained public-benefit organization.
Mar 2016 — Sep 2017
Marine Readiness Consultant
TMMG · USNS Mercy
Conducted engineering-readiness review for MSC hospital-ship life-extension work. Identified essential repairs, upgrades, and alteration issues and developed technical documentation for bilge, ballast, sludge, and potable-water system modifications.
Translated shipboard observations into technically defensible repair and alteration recommendations supporting HM&E sustainment.
Aug 2015 — Dec 2016
Third Assistant Engineer / OICEW
USNS Gilliland · Patriot Contract Services / MSC
Served as a licensed engineering officer responsible for safe operation, maintenance, troubleshooting, casualty response, and material readiness of propulsion, electrical, pumping, piping, and auxiliary systems in an underway environment.
Built the operational foundation that continues to inform waterfront decisions, maintenance priorities, and engineering leadership today.
03 / Mission Forge
Building capacity for missions that matter.
Mission Forge extends Kyle’s engineering and nonprofit experience into a connected advisory and public-benefit ecosystem—while maintaining clear governance, independence, and ethical boundaries between the two organizations.
Founder · Management consulting
Mission Forge Advisory
Helps startups, nonprofits, and purpose-driven organizations strengthen strategy, governance, funding readiness, grant management, operations, and sustainable execution. The work is broader than grant writing: it builds the organizational capacity required to use funding well.
- Formation, governance, and operating systems
- Funding strategy, grants, and award management
- Readiness assessment and Mission Forge Method™ implementation
Founder & Executive Director · Public benefit
Mission Forge Foundation
A separate Virginia nonprofit corporation being built to expand access to organizational capacity, education, funding readiness, and mission-support infrastructure for emerging public-benefit organizations.
- Independent board governance and charitable purpose
- Accessible capacity-building and educational resources
- Legislative, regulatory, grant, and governance watch
Prior founder track recordTrails of Purpose grew from startup to $400,000+ in gross revenue over six years.
That experience—governance, fundraising, partnerships, programs, technology, and no-cost services for military families—now informs the systems being built through Mission Forge.
04 / Capabilities
Where engineering meets execution.
Marine engineering
Steam, diesel, gas-turbine, and nuclear platforms; HM&E sustainment, modernization, material readiness, and shipboard operations.
Program leadership
Cost, schedule, technical performance, quality, risk, resources, metrics, customer engagement, and cross-functional execution.
Nuclear engineering
Reactor-plant testing, configuration control, regulated programs, technical analysis, and high-consequence decision support.
Nonprofit leadership
Startup formation, governance, fundraising, grant pipelines, partnerships, SOPs, CRM, KPI / OKR systems, and sustainable operations.
Digital & AI workflows
Technical AI evaluation, data quality, workflow design, automation, user adoption, and collaboration with software teams.
Operational strategy
Translating mission requirements into clear priorities, accountable plans, defensible decisions, and measurable outcomes.
05 / Education & qualifications
Formal education.
Operational qualification.
Education
B.S. Marine Engineering Systems
United States Merchant Marine Academy, 2015 · ABET-accredited · GPA 3.66 · Class rank 15 · Company Commander for 60 midshipmen · NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipient · Selected to sail to Antarctica aboard MAERSK Peary.
M.S. Exercise Science — Human Performance
Liberty University, 2022 · Health & Wellness concentration · GPA 3.76.
Engineering & nuclear
Advanced nuclear qualification
Norfolk Naval Shipyard Nuclear Power School; successful NAVSEA 08 written examination and oral board; S6G and Moored Training Ship Nuclear Shift Test Engineer qualification; Shift Test Supervisor experience.
This qualification pipeline reflects master’s-level technical rigor and advanced professional education; it is not presented as an accredited academic degree.
Licenses & credentials
Maritime and professional readiness
USCG Second Assistant Engineer, Unlimited Horsepower; STCW endorsement; Fundamentals of Engineering exam; Port Engineer Level III / CSPE; Active DoD Secret clearance; CrossFit Level 1 Trainer; PATH Intl. ESMHL.
Platforms & tools
Across systems and organizations
Selected experience includes USS Bainbridge, USS Laboon, USS Cole, MTS La Jolla, USS Rhode Island, USS George H.W. Bush, MTS San Francisco, USS Albany, USS Pasadena, MAERSK Peary, APL Agate, USNS Gilliland, Horizon Pacific, USNS Comfort, and USNS Mercy.
MFOM, Microsoft 365, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, Salesforce, Slack, ChatGPT, Codex, AutoCAD, CRM and workflow design.
06 / Leadership approach
Clear standards.
Shared ownership.
Mission first.
“I lead by making the mission understandable, the standard visible, and ownership unmistakable—then I give capable people the trust and support to execute.”
Open to the right mission
Let’s solve something consequential.
Interested in technical leadership, program management, engineering operations, AI-enabled technical work, nonprofit leadership, and mission-focused advisory opportunities.