Engineering transformation programs fail all the time—and Tracy Rupp has a clear diagnosis: we keep treating them as technology problems when they're really people problems.

In this episode, Chad Jackson sits down with Tracy Rupp, Program Chief Engineer and Systems Engineer at L3Harris Technologies, to talk about what it actually means to be a change agent in a complex engineering enterprise. Tracy brings a rare combination of technical depth and leadership instinct, and she's unambiguous about where most initiatives go wrong: the moment a team loses sight of the people they're asking to change.

Tracy offers a distinction that every engineering leader should hear—the difference between problem-solving and change agency. Solving a problem gets you to the finish line once. Change agency gets everyone else there too, and makes the path easier for everyone who comes after. She illustrates the difference with a story from early in her career and traces how that mindset shaped everything she's done since.

The conversation covers MBSE with unusual clarity and practicality. Tracy advocates for it—but not as a mandate. Her argument is that systems engineers have an obligation to translate, not dictate: converting model insights into language that mechanical engineers, quality engineers, and program managers can actually act on. It's a refreshing take in a field that often treats tool adoption as the goal rather than the means.

You'll also hear her perspective on building change coalitions—what she calls the "village" of visionaries, builders, and early adopters that every transformation needs—and her unconventional approach to design reviews that closes 80% of action items before anyone leaves the room.

For engineering executives navigating digital transformation and the change agents fighting for it from inside their organizations, this episode is dense with hard-won, practical wisdom.

Topics covered:

• What separates a change agent from a good problem-solver
• Why people resistance—not technology—is the defining challenge of engineering transformation
• MBSE done right: when to use it, when not to, and how to translate it across disciplines
• "Zero-day action items": how to close 80% of review actions during the meeting itself
• Building a talent development program from the ground up during COVID-19
• AI as a domain translator between engineering disciplines
• How to push back on leadership when an initiative is set up to fail
• The "village" model for change coalitions and why no single change agent can carry a transformation alone