Graduation Year: 2016
Major: Mathematics
Current Position: Software Engineer at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
City and State: Pasadena, CA
Tell us about your career and what you do now.
I began as an intern in 2015 by helping to write a prototype tool for the operators of the Jason-2 Earth satellite to visualize their telemetry streams. Although the tool never reached maturity, the experience was vital for me to build connections at JPL, develop technical skills, and learn how to contribute in a professional capacity.
Following a similar internship in 2016 for Jason-2’s successor, Jason-3, I joined JPL full-time as a software engineer in January 2017. I worked on multi-mission software used for ground system operations of Mars missions Mars Science Laboratory and InSight, as well as the Saturn orbiter Cassini. This software was used for real-time visualization of spacecraft imagery after it was generated by
other ground tools. Alongside the multi-mission work, I supported the Planetary Data System, NASA’s long-term archive for planetary data records. I was specifically involved with the Imaging Node, a 1 petabyte archive of image data from nearly two dozen spacecraft: from Viking, an orbiter of Venus, all the way to Voyager, a pair of deep-space probes. I contributed to the PDS for over 5 years, beginning as a software developer for their “Google-like” search platform. I left the task after successfully architecting and leading the migration of the Imaging Node’s applications and services to the AWS cloud. My proudest contributions to JPL to-date are to the Mars 2020 mission on the Instrument Data Systems (IDS) team. IDS offers 10 or so applications for the project, including 3D visualization capabilities, cartography, and image processing. I have worked on the project for over 5 years, and in that time I worked on PLACES, a web service responsible for maintaining the location of the Perseverance rover at any point in time, as well as any corrections (“localizations”) to that position by the ground team. The project relies upon PLACES to articulate discrepancies between calculated and observed latitude and longitude, which could be due to rover wheel slippage in sand, or other circumstances.
Additionally, I worked on the IDS Pipeline, a suite of nearly 100 processing pipelines that generate about 10 terabytes of data every martian sol. The pipeline takes a gigabyte or two of relatively “raw” rover telemetry from its multiple instruments, and turns it into hundreds of types of derived products,
including radiometrically-corrected data records, mosaics, 3D mesh skins and height maps, and others. I contributed to the IDS Pipeline as a developer, implementing cost savings measures, automatic scaling of AWS cloud resources, and a variety of other features requested by the science, rover, and instrument teams.
After a few years of working on the IDS Pipeline, I was given the opportunity to be a systems engineer for the broader IDS team. My responsibilities broadened from just IDS Pipeline to cover all of IDS’s tools, and the 15 or so people who worked on them. I stepped into the role, and learned how bridge the gap between customers and the technical team.
What is your favorite memory from Evangel?
Although I have many fond memories from my time at Evangel, my favorite has to be traveling to Florida with my fellow members of Evangel’s Kappa Mu Epsilon chapter. These geeky math nerds were some of the best people I had ever met, and some continue to be among my closest friends. Our trip to Florida for the KME conference gave us all an opportunity to bond that I will never forget.
How did Evangel help you identify/develop your calling?
A number of faculty members were critical in helping me develop my calling. I remember fondly Dr. Martindale’s class on the book of Genesis, which helped mature my relationship with the Bible and faith. I remember many long-running conversations with my academic advisor Dr. Tosh, who helped shape my understanding of what it means to be a Christian in a modern, complex world. My curriculum was key as well. Mr. Mitchum’s introduction to computer science course, although dreaded by many of my former math majors, gave me the taste of engineering that I needed to set me on a path that led to my current career. Dr. Tosh and Twigger’s math coursework taught me how to think both critically and abstractly.
How did your experience at Evangel prepare you for life after graduation?
In my current role at JPL, I am often in the middle of two diametrically opposed parties. One side wants one particular outcome, and the other side wants a seemingly opposite outcome. My experiences at Evangel taught me that, although people often disagree, most good-faith actors want the best possible outcome for their shared interest. At Evangel, that interest might have been some religious or political issue; at work, the interest is Mars 2020 science. In either case, once both parties agree that they want the best for the shared interest, I have found that their differences can often be addressed and a happy
outcome can be reached.
What advice would you give a current student preparing for the workforce?
Grades are important, but experience and soft skills are critical. If you can, findsomeone you know who works in the industry you are interested in, and get an internship while you are still an undergraduate. Not everyone is fortunate enough to have a connection; in that case, spend your summer working on personal projects in the field of your interest. While at school, join a band, study with friends, participate in theatre, join a club. Social skills are critically important for professional life.
What would you look for if you were in a position to hire new graduates from
Evangel?
If I were in a position to hire (I am not!), I would look for folks who are passionate about space exploration and who are actively contributing to open source software projects.