Jonathan Kniss is a strategic business leader with a track record of building impactful organizations in aerospace, engineering and technology.
Known for combining keen technical insight with strong interpersonal skills, he has spent over two decades driving change in complex, competitive industries.
Jonathan began his career at Boeing, where he rose with eight promotions, a rare achievement in one of the most well-structured companies in the world. His work focused on demanding initiatives that included operational planning, team leadership and product delivery at scale. “Every promotion wasn’t just a promotion – it was a chance to learn how to lead in new ways,” he says.
He later moved to Quest Integrated, where he helped grow the Qi2 Systems division from a niche service to a credible market presence. He led strategy, business development and global expansion, building teams that could adapt and perform under pressure.
Jonathan has also held leadership positions such as CEO, President and Director of Business Development. His expertise includes organizational design, profit optimization, contract negotiation and market analysis. He has built a reputation for clarity, agility and results.
From Boeing to scaling Qi2 Systems, Jonathan Kniss has spent his career navigating complex industries with structure, resilience and forward-thinking. We now learn more about how he leads teams through transformation – and why clarity and systems thinking are at the heart of lasting success.
Let’s start at the beginning. How did your career start?
I started my career at Boeing and stayed there for several years. I was promoted eight times, which you don’t plan on – but each new role gave me deeper insight into how large, complex systems work.
My time there wasn’t just about technology or processes. It was about people. I learned how to manage across silos, deal with cross-functional tensions, and stay calm when the stakes are high.
What did you take from this experience into your next chapters?
Clarity. At Boeing there is no room for ambiguity. Safety, structure and delivery are everything. When I moved to Quest Integrated, where I helped scale Qi2 Systems, I brought that same mindset to a more entrepreneurial environment.
There I had to lead product, sales and business development. We grew something from scratch. That’s when I really saw that agility doesn’t mean acting quickly – it means designing teams and systems that can act together.
You explained both the structure and the scale. How do you define agility?
Agility is not chaos. It is a structure that bends rather than breaks.
When I see a company struggling to adapt, it’s usually because they’re treating agility like an event. A reorganization, a pivot, a new attitude. But true agility depends on how decisions are made, how teams are built, and how quickly people can access what they need to take action.
One thing I believe is that if you rely on solving problems with a “fire drill” every month, you don’t have agility – you have burnout.
You have worked in aerospace, engineering and technology. What do these industries have in common?
High stakes. Whether it’s a flight system or a new software rollout, a failure has consequences.
That’s why I always relied on strong planning. But planning doesn’t mean predicting the future – it means creating options. In both aerospace and technology, the best leaders don’t just react. They create the conditions so that teams can react when the unexpected happens.
What mistakes do you think companies have made when scaling?
They rush to increase staffing levels without fixing broken systems.
I’ve watched companies double in size and collapse under their own weight. They add people who think this solves performance problems, but it just adds complexity. You need to stabilize operations before scaling them. Otherwise you will only create growing confusion.
You have worn many hats – CEO, President, Director of Business Development. What do you enjoy most about leadership?
I enjoy helping people see the bigger picture. Many leaders are stuck fighting fires. They don’t realize how much of this is due to a lack of direction rather than a lack of talent.
It’s best to build clarity into the culture. What is the mission? What priorities do we set? Who owns what? I have found that when people are clear, they develop confidence. And then performance really increases.
How do you stay grounded or continue learning in a rapidly changing environment?
I ask a lot of questions. I have always believed that curiosity is underrated in business. Some of the best insights I’ve gained come from conversations outside of my team – with engineers, operators or frontline workers.
I also like to take a step back and ask, “What is noise and what is signal?” It helps me rethink and make sure I’m not chasing things that don’t matter in the long run.
Looking ahead, what challenges or opportunities do you think leaders should prepare for?
The complexity only increases. Global supply chains, AI, regulation – there is a lot to deal with. But the leaders who will be successful are the ones who can simplify things for their teams, not complicate them.
We also need more leaders who understand people. Not just performance reviews or HR systems, but real commitment. Especially in hybrid or distributed teams, the emotional side of leadership becomes just as crucial as the strategic one.
Last question. What advice would you give to someone taking on a leadership role for the first time?
Don’t try to prove that you have all the answers. Instead, listen, ask better questions, and start mapping the system you are adopting. Where is the friction? Where are the quiet victories?
And invest in your own clarity. If you’re not clear, your team won’t be either. Leadership begins there.
Key insights
- Agility is about systems, not speed. Kniss emphasizes that true business agility is structured and strategic, not reactive.
- Clarity enables performance. He believes confident teams emerge through clear roles, strong planning and aligned goals.
- Growth should follow system stability. Scaling before addressing operational gaps leads to confusion and decline.
- Leadership means listening. Curiosity, humility and the ability to ask the right questions are more important than having all the answers.
- A strategy that puts people at the center wins. As complexity increases, emotional intelligence becomes a must for modern leaders.
