Joe Smith

Joe Smith is the Associate Director for Flight at NASA Headquarters Science Mission Directorate, Astrophysics Division, responsible for overseeing the project management and systems engineering of the many Astrophysics missions in development and operations, as well as technology projects.

Joe served as a Program Executive in the Heliophysics Division on the Living With a Star Program, the Parker Solar Probe mission, the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe mission, the Geospace Dynamics Constellation Mission, and the Interstellar Probe mission concept study. Before joining the Science Mission Directorate, he was NASA’s Program Executive for Systems Engineering in the Office of the Chief Engineer, responsible for Agency-level Systems Engineering Policy and Guidance, and for developing and maintaining the NASA’s Systems Engineering workforce. Prior to joining NASA, Joe was a member of the U.S. Navy’s civilian acquisition workforce for twenty-six years, where he held numerous engineering and project management positions.

Joe has a bachelor’s degree in Aerospace and Ocean Engineering from Virginia Tech, a master’s degree in Environmental Engineering from Catholic University, and a master’s in National Resource Management from the U.S Department of Defense Industrial College of the Armed Forces.