ABOUT ALEX

Growing up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, I was always in love with the unobstructed views of the horizon. This molded me into someone seeking to explore beyond the boundaries of humanity & unravel the mysteries of the universe. I came to recognize this as my identity, and it coupled well with my passion for aircraft & spacecraft, particularly in how they worked. Eventually, it led me to earn my undergraduate degree in Aerospace Engineering at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona.

After graduating, I worked for 10+ years in Patuxent River, Maryland at the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) for the Department of the US Navy. I became the Lead Engineer for F/A-18A-D Hornet, F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, and EA-18G Growler Aerodynamic Performance, Flight Mechanics, & System Integration.

During my time at NAVAIR, I performed 28 aircraft design trade studies to establish future aircraft performance requirements & missions, such as the F/A-XX aircraft for the Next-Gen Air Dominance (NGAD) program & various hypersonic programs. I also developed 3 wind tunnel & flight test data post processing tools using MATLAB & generated post-test analyses.

I also led team of 13 engineers to plan, execute, and analyze F/A-18 aircraft flight test data. I reduced the scope of the flight test program by $1.8 Million (53%) by using flight test data to validate a pre-flight aerodynamics model comprised of CFD and NASA Ames wind tunnel data. This model was used to verify flight performance objectives.

I was fortunate to be part of a world-class team of engineers at NAVAIR who work tirelessly to provide the most effective flight systems possible for the defense & preservation of our country's freedoms. I am humbled and appreciative that some of the brightest experts in the field of aerodynamics, flight system test, integration, & performance empowered me to serve as an airworthiness authority.

I currently work at NASA JPL as a Systems Engineer under contract with APR Consulting, and it is a dream come true! Space exploration is what I call the innate & innocent aspiration of the human condition, and JPL’s unique perspective on it resonates powerfully with my values of service to society & conveying a sense of wonder. JPL is truly a special place to me because of this.

I support the NISAR mission, and one notable achievement is that I designed & executed 3 tests to verify a boot mode of the spacecraft’s flight computer due to multiple fatal resets. I worked with multi-disciplinary stakeholders to override fault protection & analyze computer processing metrics, something which was unprecedented. I was able to successfully ensure that the system met its performance objectives in this off-nominal state.

I thrive in a team environment that allows me to design & test in order to create something tangible and meaningful to society that didn’t exist before. When I am successful at achieving these goals, I can’t help but marvel at the capability and functionality of these amazing machines. This allows me to fulfill my life purpose: to get us in touch with our sense of wonder and experience a state of limitless possibility!