Austin Howard

About Austin Howard

Austin is currently a flight test engineer and spends most of his time in the field testing new technologies.Prior to working at Shield AI, Austin worked at NASA Ames Research center where he contributed to the selection of heat shield materials for the Orion entry capsule and studied re-entry technologies that could enable human exploration of Mars. Austin studied at University of Idaho where he received a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering. As part of his graduate research, Austin conducted experiments focused on utilizing rotary wing aerodynamics for planetary probe entry vehicles. During his time in school, Austin spent his summers at NASA Ames Research Center and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s where he lead teams of his peers conducting experiments with new heat shield materials for re-entry vehicles and developing concept designs for Mars science missions before ultimately starting his career with NASA Ames in Silicon Valley.

Experience

1. Engineer

   Shield AI

   Dec 2024 — Present

Education

• University of Idaho

  Master's degree, Mechanical Engineering

  2002 — 2008

Skills

• Engineering Management
• Systems Engineering
• Solidworks
• Finite Element Analysis
• Aerodynamics
• Testing
• Matlab
• Labview
• Engineering
• Aerospace
• Simulink
• Spacecraft
• Uav Pilot
• Simulations
• Fluid Dynamics
• Space Systems
• Aerospace Engineering