About

Aviation Intelligence Since 2007

cignus.ai is the AI solutions and R&D services arm of Cignus Consulting, LLC — a 20-year aviation consulting firm delivering data-driven technology to FAA, NASA, airports, and industry partners.

cignus.aero apps.cignus.aero
Leadership

The Team Behind Cignus AI

Vinnie Khera

Vinnie Khera

Chief Executive Officer

CEO of Cignus Consulting. Guides overall company vision and strategy across aviation technology and AI programs.

StrategyAviationBusiness Development
Florian Hafner, PhD

Florian Hafner, PhD

Executive VP & CTO

Founder of Cignus Consulting. 25+ years of aviation consulting, planning, ATM concepts, and R&D. Guides the strategic vision for Cignus AI solutions and drives growth across FAA, NASA, and airport technology programs.

ATMPlanningR&DHelios Platform
Michael Mohen

Michael Mohen

Chief Solution Architect

25+ years of enterprise solution development experience. Leads solution architecture across Cignus platforms — translating complex aviation requirements into scalable, integrated system designs.

Solution ArchitectureSystems IntegrationAviation IT
Jerry Schwinghammer

Jerry Schwinghammer

Director of Digital Transformation

30+ years bridging aviation planning, operations, and technology tools and solutions. Expert in airport management, digital transformation, and deploying analytics systems in operational environments.

Digital TransformationAirport OpsAnalyticsPlanning
Peter Kostiuk, PhD

Peter Kostiuk, PhD

Director, Aviation Safety Programs

30+ years of aviation R&D, analysis, and ATM concept development. Leads NASA R&D projects including SAIF, ISARM, and predictive risk analytics.

Safety R&DATM ConceptsNASA ProgramsPredictive Analytics
Varun Sudarsanan

Varun Sudarsanan

R&D Project Director

Directs NASA R&D project execution across Cignus aviation safety and AI programs — coordinating research milestones, deliverables, and stakeholder engagement.

R&D ManagementProject DeliveryAviation Safety
Soma Gutala

Soma Gutala

Lead Developer

Full-stack engineering lead for Cignus web platforms and cloud infrastructure. Drives development of the Helios pipeline, APIs, and front-end applications.

Full-StackCloudAPIsHelios

Our Journey

2007Cignus Consulting founded — aviation planning & analysis services for FAA and airports.
2008FAA NextGen R&D on Inter-Agency Flight Information Sharing.
2010FAA ASDI Data Feed Subscriber — access to national air traffic data.
2014NASA-sponsored safety research begins — SWIM data integration and surface analytics.
2017SBA 8(a) certification. Expanded contract vehicles (SE2025, Volpe ORA).
2020FAA SWIM Subscriber — real-time System Wide Information Management data feeds.
2021Risk Tracker deployed — monitoring 26 airports across 17 metroplexes.
2024First ASDT prototype — airport safety digital twin with real-time SWIM/SFDPS data.
2025Helios cloud platform launched. GeoSky deployed. SafeFlight and SAIF in production.
2026cignus.ai established as AI solutions arm. Sig aviation AI assistant goes online.

Certifications & Credentials

SBA 8(a)MBEDBEFAA AlignedSBIR/STTR

Let's Build What's Next

Interested in our aviation AI platforms, R&D services, or a partnership?

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