NORTH AMERICA
So, whilst difficult, it is possible to work in Aerospace in the USA (classified under defence/ITAR) if you are added to TAAs or export licenses approved for non-US people. Aussies can apply for E3 Visa. Not having US citizenship hangs over every activity however and the jobs are rare – most companies just think it’s too hard and say US only. Still, These people have succeeded and you can ask them advice:
Some great advice from one of our expats: “It’s really easy for Australian’s to work for Rocket Lab in NZ. Then, if you impress them they’re willing to relocate you to the US and pay for a a DSP-5 license to get you covered for ITAR/EAR compliance. You have to sort your E3 yourself though”.
| Position and Company | Name | Location |
| University of Ontario – Professor of Health Informatics including Real-time Online Health Analytics during Spaceflight | Carolyn McGregor | Canada – Ontario | |
| University Astronomer | Bryan Gaensler | Canada – Ontario | @SciBry |
| PhD MIT | Jessica Todd | USA – Boston, MA | |
| Orion Vehicle Engineer | Vanessa Clark | USA – Denver, CO | |
| Retired, NASA | Andrew Thomas | USA – Houston, TX | |
| Aerospace Engineering Professor – California Polytechnic State University | Amelia Greig | USA – CA | |
| NASA/CIT Kepler Scientist | Jessie Christiansen | USA – LA, CA | @aussiastronomer |
| SpaceX | Mark Blair | USA – LA, CA | |
| NASA JPL | Elizabeth Jens | USA – LA, CA | |
| NASA JPL | David Flannery | USA – LA, CA | |
| NASA JPL | Sydney Do | USA – LA, CA | |
| NASA JPL | Rob Reid | USA – LA, CA | @rrfx |
| NASA JPL | Abigail Allwood | USA – LA, CA | @AbigailAllwood |
| NASA JPL | Ben Morrell | USA – LA, CA | |
| NASA JPL | Sisir Karumanchi | USA – LA, CA | |
| NASA JPL | Miles Smith | USA – LA, CA | |
| NASA JPL | Stephen Rodan | USA – LA, CA | |
| NASA JPL | Kathryn Bormann | USA – LA, CA | |
| President, The Spaceship Company | Enrico Palermo | USA – Mojave, CA | |
| PhD – Space Engineering | Tasman Powis | USA – Princeton, NJ | |
| Boeing – Manager/Strategy Development | Reece Lumsden | USA – Seattle, WA | |
| Blue Origin – Structural Design Engineer | Thomas McLean | USA – Seattle, WA | |
| Data Collective – Entrepreneur in Residence | Chris Boshuizen | USA – Valley, CA | @cboshuizen |
| NASA Ames – Software Engineer | Andrew Henry | USA – Valley, CA | @andrew_k_henry |
| NASA Ames | Jasper Wolfe | USA – Valley, CA | @jasper_wolfe |
| NASA Ames | Elizabeth Blaber | USA – Valley, CA | |
| NASA Ames | James Chartes | USA – Valley, CA | |
| NASA JSC | Rogan Shimmin | USA – Houston, TX | |
| Tauri Group / QxBranch | Michael Brett | USA – Washington DC | @MichaelSBrett |
| Lockheed Martin | Michelle Courtney | USA |
Expats not listed yet and those with incomplete details! Please let us know:
Name:
Occupation:
Workplace:
Location:
Aussie hometown:
Educational background:
Volunteer positions:
Brief summary of path from uni to arrive where you are today?
Advice for other Aussies looking to work in space?
Twitter/webpage/links:
quokkaspace 