Meet: Rob Kuczajda

Experiment Processing Engineer
NASA Kennedy Space Center

Who I Am

My name is Rob Kuczajda (pronounced "kutch-ida") and I work for NASA as an experiment processing engineer on the International Space Station project. Experiment processing involves the test and check-out of scientific experiments that are scheduled to fly in space. My job is to test experiments that will go aboard the Space Station when it is built.

What I Do

My current job involves coordinating with engineers from other NASA centers and with scientists from around the world. As a team, we design test equipment, define testing requirements, run tests on the experiments, launch the experiments, and integrate them onboard the International Space Station.

My Career Journey

I grew up in Detroit, Michigan, where I attended grade school, junior high, and high school. An electronics course in high school inspired me to pursue a career in electrical engineering. I enrolled at the University of Michigan in Dearborn in 1983 and five years later obtained a bachelor of science in electrical engineering degree.

The summer before I graduated college, I applied for an internship at NASA. To my surprise, I was hired and I spent the next three months in a design group at the Kennedy Space Center. A year later, when I graduated, they hired me full-time!

Personal Information

Away from work, I enjoy spending time with my wife Jackie and our friends in Orlando where we live. We like to go to the movies and to cultural events in the city. In my spare time I play bass guitar in a rock-and-roll band called "After Hours."

Likes About Career

Working at the Kennedy Space Center is very exciting because this is where the Space Shuttle launches and lands. I have seen over fifty Shuttle launches since I started working here in 1988. I have had the opportunity to be in the Firing Room on the Shuttle Launch Team for numerous missions.

Advice

Study hard in school and pay particular attention to your math, science, and computer classes. Try to improve your personal communication skills and learn to work as a member of a team. Most of all, stay focused. Through hard work and determination you will meet all your goals!