Chief

For the tribal title of the same name, please see Chief (tribal).

Chief (or jefe in the Spanish language) was a common designation for leading officers and enlisted personnel aboard Federation starships and installations.

When used as a title referring to an officer it denoted a member of positional authority, such as a staff officer, or department head status.

In reference to an enlisted person, it referred directly to rank. (TOS: "Mirror, Mirror")

Titles

• Chief Archon, a Cardassian judge
• Chief astronomer
• Chief city administrator
• Chief conn officer, the primary helmsman/navigator of a starship
• Chief cosmetics officer
• Chief delegate
• Chief engineering officer/chief engineer, head of the engineering department on a starship
  • Assistant chief engineer, second-in-command of the engineering department on a starship
• Chief Examiner
• Chief exobiology specialist
• Chief financial officer, a senior position in the Ferengi Alliance
• Chief geologist, head of the geology department on a starship
• Chief inspector/chief investigator
• Chief medic
• Chief medical officer/chief surgeon, head of the medical department on a starship
• Chief morale officer
• Chief of Medicine
• Chief of mining operations
• Chief of operations, head of the operations division
• Chief of staff
• Chief of Starfleet Intelligence, in charge of Starfleet Intelligence
  • Deputy Chief of Starfleet Intelligence
• Chief of Starfleet Operations, in charge of Starfleet Operations
• Chief of Starfleet Security
• Chief of surgery
• Chief officer
• Chief processing engineer
• Chief scientist
• Chief security officer/Chief of security/security chief/head of security, in charge of security on a starship or at a Starfleet facility
• Chief tactical officer, in charge of tactical stations on a starship
• Chief thanatologist
• Commander in chief, in charge of Starfleet/president
• Section chief, head of a section on Starfleet vessels
• Transporter chief, in charge of transporter operation

The role of "Chief Judge" was referenced in the final draft script of TOS: "Court Martial". However, as that episode continued to develop, the title was changed to "President of the Court".

Furthermore the script of Star Trek mentioned the function of station chief.

Ranks

• Chief petty officer, rank given to senior non-commissioned officers, who have substantial experience and are considered experts in their specific profession.
  • Senior chief petty officer, a rank superior to chief petty officers and subordinate to master chief petty officers.
  • Master chief petty officer, highest enlisted rank, often given a great amount of responsibility and leadership roles, while subordinate to commissioned officers.

This chart shows only general equivalencies based on the ranks used by many governments on Earth, as well as the rest of the galaxy.