4800 Oak Grove Drive
M/S 82-105
Vlad is a Robotics Mechanical Engineer in the Mobility and Robotic Systems Section at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
He currently serves as the Robotic Arm Systems Engineer for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) surface mission (a.k.a. the Curiosity Rover) and the Task Lead for Advanced End Effectors for NASA and Reimbursable Sponsors.
Vlad's work has clustered around hardware development, operations development, systems engineering, and verification & validation of robotic hardware systems, particularly end effectors and arms, for space applications including sample acquisition, sample handling, and gripping and anchoring for rock, ice, and artificial surfaces. He has contributed to or led teams for various flight and research projects. His primary research interests in robotics are centered around intra-system interoperability of robotic manipulation hardware. His technical interests outside of robotics lie in the history and development of technology at large, and in Effective Altruism and longtermism.
8/2010 - 12/2015 California State University Northridge - B.S., Mechanical Engineering, minor in Sustainability. Cum Laude.
(2024-Present) Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) (Curiosity Rover) Engineering Operations, Robotic Arm Systems Engineer.
(2024-Present) Task Lead, Advanced End Effector Concepts for NASA and Reimbursable Sponsors (JPL Robotics internal link)
(2023-2024) Mars Sample Return (MSR) Campaign, Capture, Containment, and Return System (CCRS), On-Orbit Assembly Testbed Systems (OATS), Subsystem Robotic Systems Engineer (RSE), team technical lead.
(2021-2023) Mars Sample Return (MSR) Campaign, Capture, Containment, and Return System (CCRS), Robotic Transfer Assembly System (RTAS), Testbeds Team Lead.
(2018-2021) Mars 2020 Rover, Sampling & Caching Subsystem (SCS), Adaptive Caching Assembly (ACA). ACA operations development and testing, early Bit Exchange testing, ACA life testing, and test lead for flight ACA commissioning.
(2017-2018) Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) (Curiosity Rover), Surface Mission Engineering Operations; Feed-Extended Drilling (FED) early testing engineering support. Lead for engineering-model rover force-torque sensor replacement operation.
(2015-2017) Asteroid Redirect Robotic Mission (ARRM), Capture Module; architecture development, design, assembly, integration, and testing of prototype/TRL-5 Microspine Gripper Tool drivetrain.
(2014) IRIS - In-situ & Remote Inspection Robot; Gecko Synthetic Adhesive (GSA) gripping end-effector mechanical design, build, and test.
Interoperability for robotic manipulation, lunar surface robotics (construction/assembly, mining, ISRU, sampling, assembly), rootic systems engineering, extraterrestrial sampling and mobility, in-space assembly and manufacturing, Effective Altruism, longtermism, existential and catastrophic risks, emerging technologies, philosophy of engineering, philosophy of technology, philosophy of science, meta-engineering, engineering methodology, engineering education.
JPL Team Award, 2023
Mars Sample Return (MSR) Program, Capture, Containment, and Return System (CCRS) Project
JPL Team Award, 2023
Mars Sample Return (MSR) Program, Capture, Containment, and Return System (CCRS) Project
JPL Team Award, 2020
Mars 2020, Sampling and Caching Subsystem (SCS)
JPL Voyager Award, 2018 (Individual)
Mars Science Laboratory, Engineering Operations
NASA Honor Award, 2018
MSL VSTB Support and Upgrade Team – Group Achievement Award
JPL Team Award, 2016
Microspine Tool for the Asteroid Redirect Mission
Armenian Engineers and Scientists of America, 2015 (Individual)