Jonathan Kniss has built a career on persistence, curiosity, and leadership. Born and raised in Northwestern Illinois, he went on to attend the University of Illinois, graduating with an electrical engineering degree. That degree became the foundation for a career that would take him into some of the world’s largest and most respected companies.
He began as an engineering intern at Honeywell during his college years, but was recruited on campus by Boeing. There, he proved his ability to learn fast and deliver results. Over the years he was promoted eight times, moving from manager to director. His time at Boeing taught him the value of teamwork, precision, and steady leadership under pressure.
Later, Jonathan took on executive roles with FlightSafetyBoeing Training International and Baker Hughes. He also led Quest Integrated’s Qi2 Systems as Vice President. At each step, he focused on growing new business, negotiating contracts, and expanding into global markets. His mix of technical and people skills made him effective in the office and in the field.
Outside of work, Jonathan enjoys hiking in the Cascade Mountains. He also gives back as a certified pet therapy team at a local children’s hospital.
Jonathan’s career shows what can happen when you combine tenacity with vision. He believes success is not only about results, but about growth and responsibility. Each achievement, he says, brings new challenges and more opportunities to learn.
Interview with Jonathan Kniss
You’ve had a long career with large and small companies like Boeing, Baker Hughes, and Quest. How do you personally define success?
For me, success has always been about doing something well that you actually enjoy. At Boeing, I moved up eight times, but the promotions weren’t the real measure. What mattered was the chance to tackle challenges I cared about. If you find work that pushes you but also energizes you, that’s success. It has to be sustainable, because titles fade but the daily work is what shapes you.
Have you ever been told something wasn’t possible, but you found a way to make it happen?
Many times. I learned that “no way” often just means “the old way won’t work.” If you’re willing to reframe the problem, you’ll often find a door no one else noticed. And that reminds of a quote by Thomas Edison, “When you have exhausted all possibilities, just remember this: You haven’t.”
You’ve said that tenacity and a positive attitude matter. How did those traits play out in your career?
I’ve had projects where the odds weren’t in our favor. Tight budgets, shifting requirements, and technology that wasn’t fully proven. It would have been easy to stall out. Tenacity was the ability to show up each day and move the ball forward anyway. And positivity wasn’t about ignoring reality, it was about keeping the team’s energy up. When people believe progress is possible, they give more of themselves. That made the difference between stalled programs and ones that advanced.
You often talk about writing goals down. Why is that important to you?
Writing goals down locks them in time. I have led large, complex operations. If I didn’t put our objectives in writing for a specific time period, they became moving targets, and ones we we weren’t measuring our progress against.
How has faith or perspective shaped your view of success?
Faith has kept me grounded when the picture was too big to control. It’s easy to get lost in the details. My approach is to focus on the big picture, keep my principles steady, and trust that persistence would carry us through setbacks. Faith wasn’t just spiritual, it was also faith in the people around me and in the process of learning through difficulty.
What have you noticed about success and responsibility as your career has grown?
Every success brought new responsibility. At Boeing, promotions meant more people depending on my decisions. At Quest, growth meant more clients and higher expectations. Success wasn’t an endpoint – it was a transfer of weight. That responsibility pushed me into more growth, because I had to adapt. It’s a cycle: success brings responsibility, responsibility forces growth, growth leads to the next success.
Outside of work, how do you think about success?
It’s simpler outside of business. Sometimes it’s about making a human connection, or completing something meaningful, no matter how small.
Looking back, what advice would you give someone starting out who wants a successful career?
Don’t chase titles or quick wins. Focus on building skills and relationships. Be ready to hear “there’s no way” and treat it as an opening rather than a wall. Write your goals down. And when you succeed, don’t just celebrate – look at what new responsibility that success has handed you. If you accept that challenge, you’ll keep growing, and that’s what lasting success looks like.