Caitlin Crawford

About Caitlin Crawford

NASA JPL Flight Systems Engineer.My specialty is focusing on the downlinking of spacecraft telemetry and data management of the engineering system. I have aided in two flight-projects during my time at JPL: NISAR and Europa CLIPPER.I\'m a first-generation college student and a Ph.D. graduate of the Colorado School of Mines in Materials Science under the guidance of Eric Toberer. My thesis, titled \"Pathways to Experimental Determination of Charge-Carrier Transport,\" focused on experimental investigations of materials for radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) and creating physics based models for electron transport in semiconductors. In 2016, I received NASA\'s Harriett G. Jenkins Graduate Fellowship allowing me to work along side of NASA\'s Jet Propulsion Laboratory for my graduate thesis. Additionally, in 2019, I was award a NASA JPL MUREP Fellowship to continue my graduate work at NASA JPL.I received my Bachelors of Science in 2015 from the University of Virginia studying Aerospace Engineering. As an undergraduate, I joined a research team for Dr. Patrick Hopkins in the Experiments and Simulations in Thermal Engineering Laboratory concentrating of nano-scale heat transfer research.

Experience

1. Flight Director Europa Clipper

   NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

   Jan 2025 — Present · Pasadena, CA, US

   Serves as a Flight Director for Europa Clipper, directing real-time execution of operational activities during various spacecraft events including maneuvers, instrument checkouts, file uplinks, and maintenance procedures- Performs detailed readiness reviews of proposed operational spacecraft activities to ensure technical readiness, timeline feasibility, and alignment with mission priorities; triages potential conflicts and system-level impacts across disciplines- Leads the flight team in real time in response to spacecraft and ground anomalies, ensuring coordinated and timely resolution in collaboration with subsystem and payload experts- Refines and enforces mission communication protocols to enhance clarity and responsiveness across the operations team

Education

• Colorado School of Mines

  Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Materials Science

• University of Virginia

  Bachelor’s Degree, Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering

  2011 — 2015