Matthew Wallace
Deputy Director for Flight Projects
Matt Wallace was named the Deputy Director for Flight Projects in April 2026. He previously served in a number of Laboratory positions, including most recently standing up JPL’s Exploration Systems Office in support of NASA’s Moon to Mars human and robotic exploration program. Before that, as Director for Planetary Science, where he oversaw formulation, development, and operations of JPL’s fleet of planetary and Mars science missions. He has held Project Manager positions on the Psyche asteroid mission and the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover mission, where he led the effort from initial concept work through spacecraft launch and successful landing at Jezero Crater in February 2021. Matt worked on all five NASA Mars rovers, beginning as a power systems engineer on the Mars Pathfinder Sojourner vehicle, leading the assembly and test team for the twin Spirit and Opportunity missions, and as Flight System Manager on the Curiosity mission. He has worked on other planetary projects, and as a program manager for Earth-observing satellites in the aerospace industry.
Matt graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland with a bachelor’s in systems engineering, and served in the U.S. Navy fast attack submarine fleet. He was certified as a Navy nuclear engineer and holds a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Caltech. He is the recipient of three NASA Outstanding Leadership awards, three Navy Achievement Medals, and the Navy Expeditionary Medal.