Jason de la Cruz.
Engineering Executive

Leadership for missions that can’t fail.

I build engineering organizations that deliver human-rated spaceflight and mission-critical systems - recovering troubled programs, scaling teams through hyper-growth, and owning the outcome all the way to flight.

Portrait of Jason de la Cruz
Jason de la Cruz
100+
Engineers led across programs
18+
Years in engineering leadership
1st
Human spaceflight in company history
~7yr
Program schedule recovered

The hardest programs don’t need more process or more heroics. They need team leaders who build organizations that deliver.

Current Role

Blue Origin · NASA Artemis
Lunar Crew Lander Program

Engineering Leader, MK2 Lunar Lander

I lead a ~80-person engineering organization delivering every flight subsystem of a human-rated lunar lander - navigation, propulsion, life support, power, thermal, and crew systems - for the lunar lander returning humans to the Moon.

I built the leadership team, cleared Preliminary Design Review, and I’m driving toward Critical Design Review while compressing the schedule by roughly four years - as the primary engineering interface to NASA leadership.

MK2 lunar lander on the lunar surface
The MK2 lander - NASA’s Artemis program.

The Record

2007 - Present
Present
Blue Origin

Engineering Leader - MK2 Lunar Lander

NASA Artemis · Human Landing System

Trusted with the lunar crew lander returning humans to the Moon.

  • Lead a ~80-person organization across navigation, propulsion, life support, power, thermal, and crew systems.
  • Built the leadership bench from the ground up - hired six managers and four technical program managers.
  • Successfully cleared PDR; driving to CDR while pulling ~4 years out of the schedule.
  • Primary engineering interface to NASA leadership.
2020–2025
Blue Origin

Director of Software Engineering - New Shepard

Sub-Orbital Human Spaceflight

Put the first humans into space in company history - on schedule.

  • Took over a program running ~7 years late and led the turnaround to first crewed flight, with the company founder aboard.
  • Scaled the organization to ~100 through hyper-growth, building the management layer as I went.
  • Cut qualification-campaign cost by nearly 90% through automation.
  • Owned a ~$30M budget and stood up three new integrated test labs.
2017–2020
Zone 5 Technologies

Head of Software Engineering

Unmanned Systems - Cruise Missiles to Delivery Drones
  • Led airborne avionics, payload, and ground software across the full mission spectrum.
  • Built core mission-planning and simulation platforms used across every program.
  • Delivered a multi-aircraft air traffic management system and a Monte Carlo analysis framework.
2007–2017
Lockheed Martin · Airware · Textron

Engineering Leadership - Defense & Commercial UAS

A decade in safety-critical avionics, simulation, and mission systems
  • Led avionics, controls, and ground software for the Fury UAS and Navy electronic-warfare tooling.
  • Built commercial UAS mission-planning and a NASA-partnered airspace system (US Patent 20180096609).
  • Delivered MRAP and Shadow UAV training simulators from design through fielding.

I build and lead the engineering organizations that deliver when failure is not an option.

My career has been a series of hard mandates on the most unforgiving programs in human spaceflight. At New Shepard, I inherited a program running roughly seven years late and led the turnaround that put the first humans into space in company history - on schedule, with the company founder aboard. I scaled the organization through hyper-growth, built its management layer, and cut qualification cost by nearly 90%.

That record is why I was entrusted with the MK2 Lunar Lander for NASA’s Artemis program. I stood up the leadership team, cleared the design reviews, and I’m pulling years out of the schedule while serving as the primary engineering voice to NASA leadership.

My philosophy is straightforward: hire and grow exceptional leaders, set an unambiguous bar for safety and quality, and give the team the clarity and room to move fast against it.

Where I Lead

Executive Competencies

Organization Building

Hiring leaders, defining critical roles based on program phase, and scaling engineering teams through hyper-growth.

Program Turnaround

Recovering troubled, years-late programs and delivering historic firsts on a committed timeline.

Technical Strategy

Setting architecture and quality direction across every subsystem of complex, human-rated and mission-critical vehicles.

Executive & Customer Trust

The primary engineering interface to NASA leadership, mission directors, and executive stakeholders.

Budget & Delivery

Owning multi-million-dollar budgets, capital investment, and operational plans against hard milestone commitments.

Safety-Critical Rigor

Human-rating and certification discipline where failure is not an option.

Let’s talk leadership.

Always glad to compare notes with people building hard technology - on organizations, program recovery, and delivering on committed timelines.