Vice President Cabin, Modifications & Maintenance
Boeing

Doug Backhus is the vice president of Boeing Global Services’ Cabin, Modifications and Maintenance organization. In this role, he is focused on bringing customers greater lifecycle value while expanding Boeing’s internal capabilities and enabling commercial airplane operators to meet the usage demands of their flight crews and passengers. His responsibilities include overseeing Boeing’s digital maintenance and tech ops services as well as commercial modification offerings, including freighter conversions, interior modifications and airframe modifications. He also leads Global Services’ cabin vertical which produces seats, galleys and other cabin furniture.

Backhus has held engineering leadership roles on multiple Commercial Airplane programs and has worked as an engineer on a diverse range of Commercial, Defense and Space programs during his more than 20 years with Boeing.

Backhus’ most recent assignment was the 747 & Out of Production Fleet Chief Project Engineer, part of the Customer Support leadership team based in Seal Beach, California. Key responsibilities in this role included maintaining product safety and integrity for the worldwide fleet.

Throughout his career Backhus has held multiple engineering and leadership roles including assignments as the 787 Fleet Chief where his responsibilities included maintaining the safety, reliability, and customer relationship for all 787s. His Boeing roles have spanned work on the space shuttle orbiter fleet, the F-22 program, the 737NG, and the 777-9.

Backhus began his aerospace career as a structures liaison engineer on the space shuttle Discovery in 2002 with United Space Alliance at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center, FL. In 2004, he transferred to Boeing Space Systems as a certified material review board structures engineer for the space shuttle orbiter fleet.

Backhus graduated from the University of Central Florida in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. He completed his Master of Science degree in mechanical engineering in 2009 from the University of Washington with a focus on structural analysis.