Tim Ellis

Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer

Tim is the Co-Founder and CEO of Relativity Space. Under Tim's leadership, Relativity successfully launched the world's first 3D printed rocket into space and has pre-sold $1.8 billion in launch service agreements from commercial and government entities. Tim has played a leading role in securing hundreds of millions of dollars in partnership with the U.S. Government - including the first-ever launch site award to a venture-backed company at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and exclusive 20-year agreements for multiple test sites at NASA's Stennis Space Center. He also led the private capital raise of $1.33 billion from the world's leading investors across six funding rounds.

Prior to co-founding Relativity, Tim was a Propulsion Development Engineer at Blue Origin, where he worked on Crew Capsule Reaction Control System thrusters, BE-4, and New Glenn and started the company's metal 3D printing division. He holds a BS and an MS in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Southern California. During his time at USC, he and Jordan Noone, Relativity Co-Founder and Executive Advisor, helped launch the first student-designed and built rocket into space.

Tim has testified to the United States Senate on commercial space policy and was the youngest member of the National Space Council Users Advisory Group for five years across two administrations, directly advising the White House on space policy. Tim was named a “Living Legend of Aviation,” being recognized as the Entrepreneur of the Year. He was a member of the World Economic Forum's Technology Pioneer cohort and has been named to MIT Technology Review's prestigious “Innovators Under 35” list, as well as the “30 Under 30” lists published by Business Insider, Forbes, and Inc. Magazine.

Muhammad Shahzad

President & Chief Financial Officer

As President and Chief Financial Officer, Muhammad “Mo” Shahzad is generally responsible for business affairs & growth, specifically leading all commercial, financial, people, and legal & risk efforts at the company. His responsibilities include but are not limited to sales & business development, brand & communications, financial planning & strategy, fundraising, capital allocation, accounting, treasury & tax, human resources, talent acquisition, legal, government affairs, safety, and security. Under Mo's leadership, Relativity has raised over $1.3B and grown more than 10x in headcount.

He brings over 20 years of finance and capital markets experience with an extensive background in financial planning, operations, management, and strategy - as well as deep technical knowledge. Before joining Relativity, he served as Chief Financial Officer of The Honest Company, where he led nearly several financing rounds and scaled the business profitably. Previously, Mo was Vice President in technology, media, & telecom investment banking at Goldman Sachs & Co., where he advised on over $30 billion in financing and M&A transactions and served as West Coast business unit manager for the Investment Banking Division. Previously Mo had founded his own startup and held various positions at Accenture and Deutsche Bank.

Mo is involved in various nonprofits, serving on the National Board of Trustees for the March of Dimes and as Chair of the Board for Developments in Literacy, among others. He graduated cum laude with a BS in Economics from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and holds an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Zach Dunn

Chief Operating Officer

Zach is the Chief Operating Officer at Relativity Space, having previously served as Senior Vice President of Engineering and Manufacturing. With decades of experience in large-scale manufacturing and launch vehicle development and operations, Zach oversees the complete evolution of the company's rockets across engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, vehicle test, launch, recovery & refurbishment, software, and information technology.

Before joining Relativity, Zach was Senior Vice President of Production and Launch at SpaceX, where he led teams of over 3,000 people developing the Merlin and Raptor rocket engines and the launch and recovery of the Falcon 9 and Dragon vehicles. Zach was also instrumental in developing SpaceX's west coast launch site at Vandenberg Air Force Base. Throughout his 13-year career at SpaceX, Zach climbed the ranks from intern to Senior Vice President - the only such career ascension at the company.

Zach holds a BSE in Mechanical Engineering from Duke University and an MSE in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Stanford University. He has authored five American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) papers advancing state-of-the-art hybrid rocket propulsion technology.

Kevin Wu

Chief Technology Officer

As Chief Technology Officer, Kevin oversees the development of Relativity's next-generation Terran R rocket, including structures & mechanisms, propulsion, fluids, avionics, flight sciences, technology development, and program management.

He spent more than a decade at SpaceX, supporting Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, Dragon 1, Dragon 2, Starship, and Starlink programs. Overseeing core flight science disciplines, Kevin worked on the maiden flight of Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, and led the analysis teams through the interdisciplinary challenges needed to fly crew aboard the Dragon 2 spacecraft. As part of the vehicle engineering department, he managed the dynamic environments and loads teams which helped to push through challenging failure investigations of CRS-7 and AMOS-6, eventually upgrading Falcon 9 to be first-stage reusable and human-rated. Kevin's earlier work as Propulsion Dynamicist comprised of solving technical problems related to combustion stability, injector design, gas generator and turbopump dynamics, and coupled fluid-structural responses such as liquid rocket pogo stability. This work helped develop the venerable Merlin-1D RP-1/LOX engine and supported the first flights of the Falcon 9 and Cargo Dragon vehicles.

Before SpaceX, Kevin began his career in the automotive industry at Garrett Turbochargers, working on variable nozzle turbomachinery. He holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana.

Josh Brost

Chief Revenue Officer

Josh is the Chief Revenue Officer, having previously served as Senior Vice President of Revenue Operations. In his role, he leads strategy for Relativity's business development, government affairs, and customer program management.

An experienced aerospace business leader, Josh has a proven track record of shaping long-term strategies that deliver revenue growth while also shaping how customers purchase existing services and novel capabilities. Under Josh's leadership, Relativity has secured launch service agreements totaling $1.8 billion from commercial and government entities. Prior to joining Relativity, Josh spent nine years at SpaceX, where he was the Senior Director of Government Business Development. He successfully secured more than $3 billion in contracts - including SpaceX's first U.S. Air Force EELV launch services contract, an Other Transaction Authority agreement to develop a new boost stage engine, and the first operational Falcon Heavy mission. Josh previously worked as a consultant at Boston Consulting Group and as an aerospace engineer at Boeing.

He holds a BS and MS in Aerospace Engineering from Arizona State University and the University of Washington, respectively, in addition to an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Holly Rockwell

VP of People & Talent

Holly is the Vice President of People & Talent at Relativity Space. Under her leadership, Relativity has grown to a team of over 1,000 employees across multiple locations.

Using data-driven insights to support business needs, Holly has a knack for scaling innovative companies and leading high-growth, high-performing teams. She joins to Relativity from PayPal, where she built and led the global talent team overseeing talent operations, programs, intelligence and attraction. Prior to PayPal, she worked at Honey - building the talent acquisition strategy and function from the ground up. The company grew 200% over two years, leading to an ultimate acquisition by PayPal.

Before her time to Honey, Holly held key talent leadership roles at Snap and SpaceX, scaling each company by over 3,000% and 400%, respectively.

Brian Erhartic

VP of Additive Development

As the Vice President of Additive Development at Relativity Space, Brian is instrumental in driving the company's strategic initiatives in developing our additive manufacturing platforms. With a strong background in manufacturing, propulsion, launch vehicle & spacecraft development, Brian has consistently delivered exceptional results throughout his career.

Prior to joining Relativity, Brian was at SpaceX for seven years, most recently serving as Senior Director of Dragon Manufacturing. Leading a team of over 500 engineers, technicians, and inspectors, Brian successfully developed the team and manufacturing system that produced the first Dragon 2 vehicles (Demo-2 and Crew-1) in 2020, bringing crewed space fight back to US soil after nearly a decade. Before SpaceX, Brian was a Manufacturing Engineer at TE Connectivity, overseeing development of new progressive stamping dies used in mass production.

He holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Lehigh University.

Peter Hochholdinger

VP of Manufacturing & Supply Chain

Peter is the Vice President of Manufacturing & Supply Chain at Relativity Space, leading a world-class team of manufacturing and supply chain professionals. He brings over 30 years of experience in the automotive industry, with an extensive background in end-to-end production.

Prior to joining Relativity, Peter was the Vice President of Global Manufacturing at Lucid Motors, where he constructed the first electric vehicle green-field factory in the United States in record time. Under his leadership, the team also developed the Lucid Production System and achieved a ISO9001 certification for the plant. Previously, Peter was the Vice President of Production at Tesla, where he was responsible for production sites in California and Europe. His leadership and implementation of efficient work practices enabled quadruple growth in annual production, significant cost reduction, and 50% lower manufacturing efforts. He started his manufacturing career at the Audi flagship plant in Ingolstadt, Germany - where he was most recently Senior Director of Production responsible for the more than 400,000 A4, A5, and Q5 models built annually. Peter oversaw teams responsible for the design, construction and start-up of the Q5 production site in San José Chiapa, Mexico. As head of several general assembly departments, the tooling department, and Audi's global stamping shops, Peter developed substantial hands-on production and manufacturing expertise.

Peter holds an MS in Material Science from the Friedrich-Alexander-University in Germany (Dipl.-Ing. Univ).

Zack Rubin

SVP of Manufacturing & Supply Chain

Zack is the Senior Vice President of Manufacturing and Supply Chain for Relativity Space, where he leads Terran R factory development and production operations. His expertise spans across every phase of vehicle development from preliminary design to launch operations.

Prior to joining Relativity, Zack worked at Virgin Orbit as the Flight Test Director, Director of the Launch Operations department, and Launch Director for the maiden flight of LauncherOne. His technical and programmatic direction played a key role in the development of the ground, aircraft, and rocket systems from early program phases through first launch. He's also held engineering and technical leadership roles at SpaceX, Newell Rubbermaid, Generation Orbit Launch Services, and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

He holds a BS in Engineering from Harvey Mudd College and MS in Aerospace Engineering from Caltech.

Kristina Skinner

VP of Communications & Brand

Kristina oversees external communications and brand strategy, inclusive of teams dedicated to media relations, social media, multimedia production, and design.

Prior to Relativity Space, Kristina was Senior Director of External Communications for One Medical, a national primary care chain, where she oversaw communications strategy for the company's 2020 IPO, national expansion efforts, and coronavirus response. Previously, she worked at Tesla in Global Communications, where she spearheaded PR programs for its automotive products, including Model 3's market entry, the unveiling of the Tesla Semi and next-gen Roadster, and review programs for Model S and Model X.

Kristina has also led brand leadership positions at several mid-stage start-ups including publishing software provider, Inkling, and peer-to-peer venue rental marketplace, Peerspace. Kristina began her career agency-side working for technology-focused PR firms in the Bay Area, where she represented clients such as Airbnb, Toyota, Mozilla and Microsoft. She holds a BS in Public Relations from San Jose State University.

Justin Youn

VP of Finance and Strategy

With a strong background in investment banking, private equity, and corporate finance, Justin serves as the Vice President of Finance and Strategy at Relativity Space, where he oversees the Corporate Development, FP&A, Indirect Supply Chain, and Procurement for Test & Launch, Business Operations, and Strategy teams.

He brings over 16 years of experience in financial planning, investing, strategy, and capital markets - with his entire career focused on the technology sector. Before joining Relativity, Justin led the global finance team at Bird for over four years, where he oversaw various capital raises including going public on the NYSE. Earlier in his career, he held various investment banking and private equity positions including serving as Vice President in the technology, media, and telecom investment banking division at Goldman Sachs & Co. Justin also held positions at ZZ Ventures, JMI Equity, and UBS Investment Bank.

He graduated cum laude with a BS in Finance, Computer Science, and Philosophy from the Boston College Carroll School of Management.

Ryan Kraft

VP of Integrated Performance

Ryan is the Vice President of Integrated Performance, where he ensures that Relativity's launch vehicles exceed customer requirements and achieve mission objectives.

As one of Relativity's earliest vehicle engineers, Ryan built the company's vehicle analysis, guidance, navigation & controls, and systems engineering teams. He joined Relativity from Arrivo, where he developed a next-generation public transportation system as the leader of its product engineering team. During his time at SpaceX, Ryan led the dynamics teams for the Crew Dragon spacecraft and worked on certification and entry and landing development for the Falcon 9 rocket. Outside of the aerospace industry, Ryan developed electric vehicle chassis systems at Faraday Future and Tesla, where he focused on the clean-sheet design, development, and launch of Model S, as well as advanced engineering for Model X.

Ryan graduated summa cum laude with a BSE in Mechanical Engineering and Mathematics from the University of Michigan, where he led the school's top-ranked Formula SAE team. He now serves as a design judge for Formula SAE competitions in North America & Europe.

Jenna Kohnke

VP of Business Performance

As the Vice President of Business Performance, Jenna aligns people, processes, and resources to drive business growth and objectives.

Prior to joining Relativity, she spent over a decade in the healthcare industry, holding key leadership roles at City of Hope, the Society for Neuroscience, and the American Cancer Society. A skilled communicator and problem solver, Jenna is adept at creating and tailoring business solutions and strategies, promoting better information flow, and aligning teams around common goals.

She currently serves as Chairwomen of the Board at the Ocean Institute and is a producer and advisor at ARTECHOUSE, an exhibit created in partnership with the Society for Neuroscience. She holds a BS in philosophy from the University of California San Diego, an MS in bioethics and research ethics via a joint program from Union Graduate College and Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and a JD and a Comparative and International Law Institute (CILI) Certificate from The Catholic University of America.

Jeff Campbell

Senior Director of Technology Development

As the Senior Director of Technology Development at Relativity Space, Jeff is at the forefront of advanced research and new product introduction. He has a proven track record of building, developing, and scaling high performing technical teams from seed-stage to unicorn startups.

Prior to his current role, Jeff held several key positions within Relativity Space, including Senior Director of Additive Development, where he led the engineering teams responsible for developing the world's largest metal 3D printers and printed the primary structure for the first two serial numbers of Terran 1.

Before joining Relativity, Jeff held various engineering roles at companies like Total Joint Orthopedics, Vector Launch, Arrivo, Guidance Engineering, and the Amedica Corporation. He has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Utah, alongside an MSME in Mechanical Engineering and a PhD in Mechanical Engineering and Biomechanics from the University of Washington.

Clay Walker

VP of Test & Launch

Clay is the Vice President of Test & Launch at Relativity Space, where he oversees test operations and ensures the successful launch of missions. With a strong background in test operations and management, he was the Launch Director for Relativity's maiden launch of Terran 1 in March 2023 from Launch Complex 16 at US Space Force Base in Cape Canaveral.

He joined Relativity from SpaceX - most recently as a Senior Manager of Stage Test Operations - where he oversaw critical development and acceptance testing for Falcon stage 1 and stage 2 ensuring the reliability of the stage systems. Earlier in his career, Clay worked as a Flight Test Engineer at QinetiQ North America working on aircraft survivability.

Clay holds a BS and an MS in Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical Engineering from Auburn University.

Meghan McCarthy

VP of Vehicle Manufacturing & Quality

Meghan is the Vice President of Vehicle Manufacturing & Quality at Relativity Space, where she oversees vehicle manufacturing and production in addition to factory development. She joined in 2020 as the Director of Manufacturing, responsible for architecting, development, and execution of manufacturing operations, in addition to scaling the manufacturing department from scratch to nearly 200.

Prior to joining Relativity Space, Meghan spent time at both Virgin Orbit and Northrop Grumman. She joined Virgin Orbit in 2016 as the company's first Integration Engineer and eventually led and oversaw the vehicle manufacturing & integration department. Prior, Meghan worked as a Mechanical I&T Engineer on the James Webb Space Telescope, where she was responsible for developing and executing build & test procedures alongside NASA and production. She started her career interning at SpaceX and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

Meghan holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Harvard University and an MS in Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering from the University of Southern California.

Andy Short

Senior Principal of Manufacturing Operations

As Senior Principal of Manufacturing Operations, Andy oversees all aspects of Relativity's manufacturing operations to support the company's rapid testing, development, and production milestones.

Prior to joining Relativity Space, Andy was the Vice President of Manufacturing at Virgin Orbit, where he played a pivotal role in building the factory and establishing processes for the manufacturing, integration, and testing of LauncherOne. As the Director of Composites Production at SpaceX, he focused on growing the team and production infrastructure to meet increasing production rates and implementing efficient manufacturing processes for Dragon and Falcon. Andy also held leadership positions at Goldbrecht and Safran Landing Systems, where he achieved the best cost-per-unit on their aircraft brakes by driving cycle time reductions, improvements in first pass yield, and overall equipment effectiveness.

He holds a BS in Textile Engineering from Auburn University and an MBA with a concentration in International Business from Xavier University.

Roxanne Fung

VP, Corporate Controller

As Vice President, Corporate Controller, Roxanne guides Relativity's strategic financial decisions and protects the integrity of the company's financial information. Her commitment to financial excellence and her ability to provide valuable insights have played a key role in the company's continued growth and success since 2018.

Before coming to Relativity, Roxanne held a series of leadership positions at emerging growth, venture capital, and private-equity backed companies for over a decade. She brings valuable expertise in areas such as global business operations, process optimization, turnaround management, and system implementation. Roxanne has served as Corporate Controller in business sectors including manufacturing and telecommunications, where she managed global accounting and finance offices, led restructuring for a business with more than 30 legacy entities, and oversaw a number of successful M&A transactions.

She holds a BA in Business Economics with an emphasis in Accounting from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Tim Buzza

Distinguished Engineer

Tim currently serves as a Distinguished Engineer at Relativity Space, guiding the team on rocket design, testing, and launch site development. One of the world's leading experts in rocket development, he brings more than 30 years of influence in space exploration to his work, helping structure and scale the fast-growing company for success.

Previously, he served as vice president of launch at small launch vehicle company, Virgin Orbit, where he led program development for LauncherOne. Prior to Virgin Orbit, Tim spent 12 years at SpaceX, joining the company just months after its founding in 2002. During his time at SpaceX, he advanced to become the Vice President of Test and Launch, while leading the design, construction, and operation of launch and test sites in Florida, Kwajalein, Texas, and California. He was also directly involved with the development of Falcon 1 - the first private liquid-fueled rocket to reach orbit - Falcon 9, and the Dragon Spacecraft. He joined SpaceX from Boeing, where he worked for 14 years on advanced research and development programs.

Tim holds an MS in Mechanical Engineering from Penn State University. He volunteers as a mentor to local engineering students and holds multiple patents.

Felix Holst

Senior Principal of Product Innovation

Felix is the Senior Principal of Product Innovation, where he develops frameworks for people, processes, and innovation to revolutionize manufacturing on and off the planet. He has a proven track record of building high-performance design & innovation organizations, crafting foundational strategies, and guiding cross-functional teams to produce breakthrough work.

Prior to joining Relativity, he co-founded and served as Chief Product Officer at Hackrod, a start-up focused on democratizing access to the worlds of product design, engineering, and on-demand manufacturing. Felix began his career in the toy business, climbing the creative ranks to Vice President of Creative at Mattel's wheels division, where he drove product, packaging, entertainment, IP, and franchise development for Hot Wheels, Matchbox, and more. By applying the idea of 'think big, work big' across the portfolio, he was able to grow the division to nearly $1 billion in revenue.

Felix currently serves on the Advisory Board of Donut Media and is the Founder and Principal of Holst Automotive, consulting organizations on strategy, product development, and thought leadership. He holds a BA in Industrial and Product Design from Northumbria University in the United Kingdom.

Wendy Fan

Senior Principal Materials Engineer

Wendy brings over 20 years of multidisciplinary expertise and a proven track record of inventing and leading the development and delivery of new materials into production in fast-paced and resource-constrained environments. In her role as a Senior Principal Materials Engineer at Relativity Space, she leads the discovery and development of new extreme environment materials (-423F to 4000F) to meet the rapid and reusable needs for the Terran R rocket.

Previously at SpaceX, as a principal materials engineer, Wendy worked closely with a diverse team of stakeholders, technicians, engineers, and vendors to create unique and state-of-the-art materials. These include heatshields, coatings, and advanced composites that were critical to the reusability and reliability of Falcon rocket and Crew Dragon Capsule. Prior to that, Wendy was a researcher at NASA Ames, where she honed her scientific discovery skills in the fields of chemistry, polymers, nanotechnology, and TPS composites.

Wendy holds a BSc, MSc, and PhD in Chemistry from Fudan University, Boston University, and Stanford University, respectively. She is also an avid Toastmaster, currently serving as a Division Director.

Sorin Cristian

Senior Principal Fatigue and Damage Tolerance Engineer

Sorin is a Senior Principal Fatigue and Damage Tolerance Engineer at Relativity Space, where he develops the fracture control strategy to increase the structural reliability of the reusable flight hardware components.

Prior to joining Relativity, Sorin has held senior engineering stress analysis roles with a focus on fatigue and damage tolerance aspects to support new civil aircraft design programs, military aging aircraft, launch vehicles, and satellite development. In the last decade, he has worked at Gulfstream Aerospace and Amazon Kuiper. His deep technical expertise in ensuring structural integrity allows for the development of reliable and resilient systems.

He graduated with a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Politehnica University Timisoara in Romania.

Yu Matsutomi

Senior Principal Propulsion Systems Engineer

As a Senior Principal Propulsion Systems Engineer, Yu plays a vital role in the development and optimization of propulsion systems, ensuring their performance and reliability.

Before joining Relativity, Yu dedicated nearly a decade of his career at Blue Origin, where he served as a deputy program manager, leading the team through the initial development of the 550k lbf BE-4 oxygen-rich staged combustion engine. Throughout his time there, he held various test lead positions, including the BE-4 engine test lead, where he skillfully guided the team through complex technical challenges. Additionally, Yu's earlier work as a combustion devices engineer involved designing the BE-4 main injector, demonstrating his versatility and expertise. Prior to Blue Origin, Yu began his career as a propulsion engineer at Astro Research Corporation in Japan, focusing on RCS thrusters and in-space propulsion systems.

He holds a MS and PhD in Aerospace Engineering from Purdue University.

Chris Peratrovich

Senior Principal Propulsion Engineer

Chris is a Senior Principal Propulsion Engineer at Relativity Space. With a focus on engine balance, system trades, and test troubleshooting, he plays a crucial role in ensuring the efficiency and reliability of Relativity's propulsion systems. He has rapidly progressed through the ranks within the company, being promoted from senior to staff to principal to senior principal engineer in under four years.

Prior to joining Relativity, he worked at SpaceX for over six years, where he developed widely used a generic fluid-thermal-mechanical solver used for real time simulation of ground and vehicle systems, specialized in designing and improving fluid-thermal simulations.

He holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University and is an active coach of a high school robotics team.

Scott Stanfield

Senior Principal Engineer of Technology Strategy

Scott is the Senior Principal Engineer of Technology Strategy at Relativity Space. With his extensive expertise in technology strategy, architecture, and entrepreneurship, he plays a vital role in executing the company's mission.

Prior to joining Relativity, he was a Principal Architect at Microsoft for Project Bonsai, a low-code industrial AI development platform for engineers. He also built 500 robots, as part of Microsoft's Project Moab, to teach people how to teach machines. Scott is also an entrepreneur, having founded and served as CEO of Vertigo Software. Over the span of nearly 20 years, he grew the company into a leading software development firm and eventually sold it to Major League Baseball Advanced Media.

He holds a BS in Computer Science from California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo.

James Harris

VP of Propulsion Engineering

James is the Vice President of Propulsion Engineering at Relativity Space, where he brings intimate knowledge of propulsion systems and operations. He previously served as the Chief Engineer of Terran 1, working closely with the design, integration, and operations teams to ensure completion of entrance and exit criteria for major milestones and test campaigns, along with flight readiness processes.

He joined Relativity from Waymo, Alphabet's self-driving car company, where he developed and validated motion-control hardware and software for driverless operations on public roads. During his seven years at Blue Origin, he led testing for the New Shepard rocket booster and crew capsule, as well as serving as flight controller for the vehicle's first successful launch and landing.

James graduated summa cum laude with a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Tufts University.

Justin Richeson

Senior Principal Engineer of Integrated Performance

Justin is a Senior Principal Engineer of Integrated Performance at Relativity Space, bringing deep technical know-how in launch and entry vehicle development, aerodynamics and aerothermodynamics, guidance, navigation, and control (GNC), software automation, and propulsion systems.

Prior to joining Relativity, he worked at SpaceX for over 13 years, leading early Falcon 9 and Cargo Dragon entry, descent, and landing (EDL) work and initial Crew Dragon development. He served as a manager of the launch software automation and aerodynamics teams and as an individual contributor in the launch, propulsion, aerodynamics, and GNC groups. His contributions included developing, validating, and maintaining systems that led to the first commercial entry vehicle, first inflight Supersonic Retro Propulsion (SRP) demonstration, first orbital-class rocket landing, and the rapid and reliable launching of SpaceX assets.

Justin holds a BS, MS, and PhD in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Maryland. His research has been published in esteemed technical publications, including those of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and the Institute of Navigation (ION).

Kim Nakamaru

General Counsel

With experience as a senior executive and General Counsel in both public and private international companies, Kim brings a breadth of experience navigating complex legal, operational, and risk management matters in the technology, telecommunications, and aerospace industries. As General Counsel at Relativity Space, Kim oversees the Legal, Environmental, Health & Safety, and Corporate Security organizations.

She joins Relativity from Eagleview Technologies, a leader in geospatial technology and aerial imagery with over 300 patents, where she served as General Counsel overseeing legal, compliance, and safety across multiple highly regulated industries. At EagleView, Kim played a crucial role in establishing the company's first-ever IP strategy and function, which led to strategic patent enforcement, new long-term commercial partnerships, and business process reengineering that enabled the company to successfully scale while continuing to execute on high-impact transactions, drive innovation, and ensure customer success. Prior, she served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary of Global Eagle Entertainment (now Anuvu), a leading international provider of satellite-based broadband connectivity to aviation, maritime, enterprise, and mission-critical government customers. There, she provided trusted counsel on a wide range of international legal and compliance matters - including bet-the-company litigation, IP strategy, complex M&A, and capital markets and SEC/securities matters - and was instrumental in establishing public company governance best practices and elevating the company's legal operations, global compliance, and risk management capabilities. Prior, Kim practiced M&A and corporate law at McGuireWoods LLP in Los Angeles and clerked for Judge J. Spencer Letts of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

She received her bachelor's degree from Princeton University and law degree from Loyola Law School. Additionally, Kim serves on the board of the California Women's Law Center, where she makes a meaningful impact in the pursuit of equality and justice.

Elliott Davis

Senior Designer

Fritz Gruber

Senior Principal Weld Engineer

Fritz is the Senior Principal Weld Engineer who oversees the advancement of welding processes in additive manufacturing technology.

Before Relativity, Fritz was the application engineer at Fronius USA, where he served as the national contact for Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) projects and headed the customer support for the southwest region. Previously, he was a fabricator and a technical project manager at Les Metalliers Champenois, a French company that first opened an operation in New Jersey for restoring the Statue of Liberty. At Les Metalliers, Fritz oversaw high-end custom projects and restoration work that can be seen along the 5th Avenue and around the Central Park in New York City, as well as at Columbia University and Yale University. Fritz also ran his own shop.

He credited his father, a master blacksmith and welder, for nurturing a lifelong love of metal fabrication. Fritz grew up in Austria and was an eager helper at his father's shop after school as a child. Fritz graduated from HTL Steyr, a technical vocational training school in Austria.

Tjepke Heeringa

Senior Principal Engineering Analyst

Tjepke is a Senior Principal Engineering Analyst of Integrated Performance at Relativity Space, where he's focused on structural analysis, simulation, and optimization. He brings a deep technical knowledge of launch vehicle structures design, analysis, and testing.

Prior to joining Relativity, he worked at Bell Flight, where he played a key role in the structural development of the FARA-CP prototype for the U.S. Army. At Firefly, he was the Lead Engineer for loads and dynamics. Tjepke also served as the Director of Structural Analysis at SpaceX, where he was instrumental in the design and testing of Cargo Dragon and the Falcon 9 thrust structure.

Tjepke holds a MS in Aerospace Engineering from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.

Brian Wemple

Senior Director of Launch Infrastructure

Brian is the Senior Director of Launch Infrastructure at Relativity Space. He leads the Cape Canaveral-based team in design, engineering, and construction of Relativity's capital projects - including the new Terran R Launch Complex.

As one of Relativity's first engineers based in Cape Canaveral, Brian was directly responsible for the design and construction of Terran 1 Launch Complex and the Launch Control Center. He joined Relativity from SpaceX, where he worked on multiple engineering and construction projects for the company's orbital launch complexes at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Earlier in his career, Brian worked as a structural engineering consultant at the renowned Walter P Moore, focusing primarily on theme park engineering.

Brian holds a BS and MS in Structural Engineering from the University of Florida. He is a registered Professional Engineer (Structural) in Florida.

Matt Gratias

VP of Federal Programs

Matt is the Vice President of Federal Programs, where he leads business development for government launch and advanced manufacturing applications.

He has over 20 years of experience at the intersection of the defense sector, technology startups, and research universities. Before joining Relativity, Matt served as Vice President of Federal at Virtualitics, an AI data analytics software company, where he grew defense contract bookings by 10x in two years.

Prior to Virtualitics, Matt served as Senior Advisor to the Managing Director at the National Security Innovation Network (formerly MD5), a defense innovation program office in the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E)). He also previously served as the Pacific Regional Director of MD5, the Department of Defense's National Security Technology Accelerator, where he was tasked with catalyzing a community of national security innovators in California, Arizona, Nevada, and Hawaii.

He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science and International Relations from the University of Southern California.

Abraham Awad

Senior Director of Total Rewards & HR Operations

Abraham is the Senior Director of Total Rewards and HR Operations, where he is responsible for designing and delivering benefit, compensation, and HR programs that support the success of the team and the business. He is committed to programs that support all aspects of a team member's wellness and are designed in a way that is fair and equitable for all.

Prior to joining Relativity, Abraham worked in total rewards for over 15 years, spanning many industries and companies that included Disney, Facebook, Block, Atlassian, and Colgate-Palmolive, along with many startup companies. He was responsible for implementing market leading benefit and compensation programs as well as managing HR systems designed to support the growth of organizations as they scaled up in size and locations.

He holds a BS in Human Resources from California Polytechnic State University, Pomona.

Nancy Martinez

Senior Director of Talent Acquisition & Inclusion

Nancy is the Senior Director of Talent Acquisition and Inclusion at Relativity Space. Leading the talent acquisition team, she drives talent attraction, inclusive hiring, employer branding, and early career talent development, all while expertly scaling the company's workforce. Her leadership extends beyond recruitment, spearheading the Inclusion and employee experience teams to cultivate a workspace that not only values diversity and inclusion but flourishes on it.

With over a decade of experience in talent acquisition and DEI, Nancy has contributed her expertise to tech giants such as Google, Facebook, and Twitter, employing innovative strategies to assemble best-in-class teams. Passionate about creating positive work environments, Nancy believes in the power of building teams that not only excel but thrive together.

She graduated with honors, earning a BA in Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Umer Khan

Chief Information Officer & SVP of Software

Umer leads software engineering for Relativity Space, including design, simulation, launch, flight, recovery, and mission control. He is also responsible for technology infrastructure, including artificial intelligence, business applications, cybersecurity, and factory automation.

Umer brings more than 25 years of experience in leading software, technology, and security teams at high-growth R&D companies. Prior to joining Relativity, Umer was Chief Information and Security Officer at MaxLinear, a leading semiconductor firm where he scaled business applications, engineering systems, IT infrastructure, and security. Before that, Umer was VP of Information Technology and Security at SpaceX, where he spent more than nine years enabling mission-critical launch, control, and recovery as well as full-scale USA-based manufacturing. Umer also held various technical leadership roles at Broadcom Corporation over 13 years.

Umer has a BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering with concentration in software from Illinois Tech, an MS in Information Security Engineering from SANS Technology Institute, and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Evan Hathaway

Senior Director of Environmental Health and Safety

Evan is the Senior Director of Environmental Health and Safety (EHS), where he ensures that Relativity protects the health and well-being of its employees, safeguards the environment, and fosters a safe working culture across the entire company.

Before joining Relativity, Evan was the Senior Director of Global Environmental, Health, and Safety at Viasat, Inc., a global satellite communications company, where he built an EHS program focused on employee engagement and risk reduction for over 8,000 employees. Prior, he served as EHS Manager at Bechtel, a global engineering procurement and construction firm, working on mega-projects throughout the world including London's Gatwick Airport, the Riyadh Metro Project in Saudi Arabia, the Kenya Motorway in Nairobi, the Dulles Metrorail in Washington, D.C., and the Autostrada Transilvania project in Romania, among many others. There, he worked with diverse teams, partners, clients, and government agencies to ensure safe delivery and minimal environmental impact for these multi-billion-dollar programs which helped bolster economic growth through job creation and national infrastructure development.

Evan holds a BS in Fire Protection and Safety Engineering from Oklahoma State University and is a Certified Safety Professional (CSP) in the United States and a Chartered Member of the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (CMIOSH) in the United Kingdom.

Lamar Gosha

Senior Director of Quality

Lamar is the Senior Director of Quality, where he leverages his extensive background in world-class quality & compliance to collaborate across the enterprise, driving the Relativity Space Quality System and leading the Quality Engineering team.

He joined Relativity from Rivian, where he led quality strategy for product development and transitioned to production for propulsion programs, electronics, vehicle interior/exterior, and vehicle charging products. Previously, he was the Chief Quality Officer at RED Digital Cinema and the Global Director of Quality and Operational Excellence at Harman International.

Lamar started his career in aerospace & defense, first at Hughes Space & Communications as a Manufacturing Engineer for electronic assemblies and later at Boeing Satellite Systems, where he was responsible for driving projects through manufacturing. Later, he moved to Raytheon and held several positions over time, including Program Quality Manager for missile system programs.

Lamar is a multi-disciplined engineer, graduating with BSE in Manufacturing Engineering from the Central State University, and MSE in Mechanical Engineering and MS in Systems Engineering from Loyola Marymount University.

Josh Jetter

Senior Director of Avionics Engineering and Manufacturing

Josh is the Senior Director of Avionics at Relativity Space, where he oversees the teams responsible for the full product lifecycle of avionics, including electrical and mechanical design, integration, test, manufacturing, certification, and operations. Josh joined Relativity in 2021 to lead the Avionics department through the development, manufacturing, and launch of Relativity's launch vehicles.

Prior to joining Relativity, Josh led engineering teams at various early-stage aerospace startups, developing products ranging from enterprise drones to in-space transportation vehicles. Josh started his career developing spacecraft: he worked on power systems, power electronics, and electronics design for Starlink at SpaceX, where he was also one of the launch and early orbit operations console engineers for the first Starlink satellites. Prior to this, Josh worked on various space systems programs at Sandia National Labs.

Josh holds BS degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology.

Joe Bussenger

Senior Director of Launch Operations

Joe Bussenger is the Senior Director of Launch Operations and the Cape Site Director. With over twelve years of commercial spaceflight experience, Joe brings extensive experience in landing and reusability operations. Joe oversees the day-to-day operations at the Cape launch site that includes the evolution of vehicle processing, vehicle transportation, control room operations, landing and reusability operations, and payload integration.

Prior to joining Relativity, Joe was the Director of Landing and Recovery Operations at SpaceX, where he led Falcon 9 landing operations, Dragon cargo recovery, Dragon crew recovery, and fairing recovery operations. Joe was one of the first lead engineers dedicated to Falcon landing operations and served as the primary landing controller for dozens of missions. Furthermore, Joe had managed various teams in addition to recovery, including launch and range operations. Joe has led both launch and landing operations, introduced new vessel design and operational practices, and has been influential in offshore technology policy.

Joe holds a BS in Aerospace Engineering from the Florida Institute of Technology where he continues to serve on industry/academic boards. He was the 2024 Florida Tech Jerome P. Keuper Distinguished Alumni Award recipient.

Seb Leterrier

Senior Principal DevOps Engineer

Seb is a Senior Principal DevOps Engineer at Relativity Space, specializing in software infrastructure automation. He leads the architecture and development of our Kubernetes-centric production platforms, with a strong focus on scalability and self-service. Pivotal to Terran 1's success, they now constitute the bedrock of our software-driven factory and launch facilities, enabling all Relativity teams to develop, test, and run software reliably.

Before joining Relativity, Seb spent 12 years at Blizzard Entertainment in various technical roles. His contributions ranged from automating the deployments of thousands of ephemeral gaming workstations for BlizzCon events, to playing a key role in a small team that designed, deployed, and operated the intercontinental private and public clouds that host Blizzard's large-scale online platform.

He holds a BS in Computer Engineering from the University of Caen, France.

Dadjar Modjahedpour

Senior Principal Manufacturing Engineer, Vehicle Manufacturing

Dadjar is a Senior Principal Manufacturing Engineer at Relativity Space. He oversees a team that's responsible for setting up the manufacturing systems to produce Terran R structures. The team introduces state-of-the-art processes to complement our additive manufacturing technologies.

Prior to joining Relativity in 2021, Dadjar worked at SpaceX and took on different roles for over 10 years. He initially focused on setting up production systems, and later he led the manufacturing engineering efforts on the manufacturing, installing and upgrading of critical launch structures, including the conversion of the Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 39A for launching Falcon Heavy and commercial crew transport vehicle. His engineering career prior to aerospace included gas and steam turbine manufacturing as well as development and manufacturing of advanced industrial processing equipment.

Dadjar holds an MS (Diplom-Ingenieur) degree in Mechanical Engineering from the RWTH Aachen University in Germany and conducted graduate aeronautics research at Caltech in Pasadena, California.