Courtney Fink – Trident Maritime Systems

When Courtney Fink talks about the Polar Security Cutter, she does not start with specs or schedules. She starts with the ice itself.

The U.S. Coast Guard’s next-generation icebreaker is designed to operate in polar environments where standard vessels simply cannot go—breaking through six to eight feet of ice across roughly 460 feet of hull, enabling missions in some of the most unforgiving conditions on the planet. For the project manager at Trident Maritime Systems who is helping build the electrical systems that will power it, that context is not background noise. It is the reason precision matters and why accountability, at every level of the program, cannot be optional.

“This vessel exists to go where the Coast Guard needs to go,” Fink says. “The ship’s systems have to function under punishing conditions.”

That clarity of purpose runs through everything Fink does. As a project manager within Trident’s Power, Propulsion, and Control (PPC) division, she is responsible for keeping complex government shipbuilding programs on schedule, within budget, and coordinated across the engineering, production, and supply chain teams that make delivery possible. Her current portfolio includes the Polar Security Cutter program for the U.S. Coast Guard and a full-time PM assignment on the Textron Systems Ship-to-Shore Connector (SSC) program for the U.S. Navy—a hovercraft-style platform approximately 92 feet in length designed to enable ship-to-shore operations. Across both programs, the work is the same at its core: build the schedules, manage the subcontracts, track the budgets, and hold every team accountable to the timeline.

A division built for shipbuilding

Trident Maritime Systems supports shipbuilding across a wide range of vessel types and government programs—from commercial applications to highly specialized military platforms. Trident’s PPC division focuses on the onboard systems that keep ships functional and safe, including switchboards, motor control centers, load centers, and data acquisition units. For the Polar Security Cutter specifically, the PPC team is building and delivering multiple switchboards and related shipboard electrical control equipment, as well as producing data acquisition units in-house. The scale and technical demands of that platform have also pushed conversations about expanding Trident’s in-house production capacity at its New Orleans facility—a development that reflects both growing program complexity and the company’s ongoing investment in building deep, durable local capability.

Fink joined Trident as a Senior Buyer after spending her early career at ION, an oil and gas seismic equipment company. When ION entered Chapter 11 around the same time she and her wife were preparing to have a baby, she made a deliberate choice: prioritize stability and momentum. Trident offered both. From purchasing, she moved through operations, warehouse, and production exposure, then into subcontract management on the Gulf Coast, and ultimately into program management. The path was not linear, but it was consistent—shaped by leaders who recognized her potential and by Fink’s own willingness to step into gaps and execute under pressure.

Her foundational program experience came on the Navy’s T-AO replenishment oiler program, a John Lewis-class platform designed to refuel and resupply vessels at sea—a mission-critical capability for fleet readiness and operational range. Though her formal role on that program was in procurement, she functioned well beyond that lane, traveling to support production and operational issues and building a deep, hands-on understanding of how Trident programs actually move from order to delivery. It was the proving ground that shaped the PM she became.

“That program really got me going,” she says. “I learned how production decisions impact schedule, how operational constraints show up downstream, and why coordination across sites can make or break delivery.”

An instinct for stabilization

When Fink was assigned full-time to the SSC program with Textron Systems about four to five months before the interview, the situation called for more than routine PM work. Performance needed structure. Production and operations were not tracking as leadership required, and she was brought in specifically to address it. Four new ship sets have since been awarded under that contract, with work expected to run through approximately 2028 and 2029.

“I was asked to step in when we needed a boost,” she says. “I do not stop until I have the answer, and I escalate directly when something is stalling.”

That approach has made her the kind of PM people lean on—not just for status updates, but for direction when uncertainty hits. On the Polar Security Cutter, she works alongside fellow PM Lawrence to coordinate deliverables across internal teams and external vendors, managing made-to-order components alongside in-house production timelines. The program is currently in active production, with Trident delivering equipment mid-year through the end of the year, feeding into a broader government vessel schedule with publicly discussed delivery expectations extending into 2028 and 2030.

For Fink, the sheer scale of the Polar Security Cutter compared to earlier work still registers. She described it as massive—meaningfully larger than the Navy programs she had previously supported, with an equipment and coordination scope to match.

Earned without a traditional path

One thing Fink is equally clear about is what she did not have when she started: a traditional college degree. She built her career through performance, ownership, and consistency—and she is candid with the people she leads about exactly what that path looked like.

“You do not necessarily need a college degree to build a strong career,” Fink says. “You set goals, you execute, and you keep learning.”

She is currently pursuing her PMP certification as a concrete next step—not to prove what she has already demonstrated in the field, but to formalize it. Her leadership goals extend beyond credentials. She wants to be the kind of manager people trust, someone who treats her team with consistency, supports them through complexity, and becomes a steady reference point when ambiguity arrives.

The rhythm of New Orleans

Off the clock, Fink’s world is shaped by her family and the city she calls home. With a daughter approaching six years old, family time is a constant priority—and in New Orleans, that means leaning into everything the city has to offer. Mardi Gras season, crawfish boils, Jazz Fest, beignet festivals, and a restaurant culture that makes being a self-described “big city person” feel entirely justified. It is a life lived with the same appetite for experience that she brings to her work: fully present, never halfway in.

For a program manager helping deliver shipboard systems built to function at the edge of the Earth, that grounding matters. The ships she supports will go where the Coast Guard needs them to go. Fink intends to be the kind of leader who does exactly the same for her team.