Shawn Goodman
Director for Engineering & Science
Shawn Goodman holds both Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Since joining NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in 1991, he has served in a wide range of roles across project execution, line management, technology development, and mission formulation.
As a mechanical engineer, Shawn contributed to several missions. He served as Mass Properties Engineer for the Miniature Sensor Technology Integration (MSTI) project, was part of the contract oversight team for the Mars Global Surveyor mission and worked as a Cognizant Engineer on the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C (SIR-C) missions. He later became the Mechanical Systems Engineer for the Deep Space One (DS1) mission before transitioning into management.
In line management, Shawn held key leadership roles including Group Supervisor for the Mars Exploration Engineering Group and Section Manager for the Spacecraft Mechanical Engineering Section.
He moved into senior project leadership in 2008 as the Project System Engineer for the Soil Moisture Active and Passive (SMAP) mission and later began serving in senior line management within Division 35 the Mechanical Systems Engineering, Fabrication and Test Division as the Division Manager. He has since held various senior management positions within the Mars Sample Return (MSR) Program, including Project Manager and Payload Manager during its formulation phase.
Shawn later transitioned to institutional leadership, serving as Deputy Director of the Office of Safety and Mission Success, and subsequently as Deputy Director for the Engineering and Science Directorate.