Juan Arrieta
Founder and CEO (Pasadena, CA)
Juan holds a BSc (2002) in chemical engineering from Universidad Iberoamericana (Mexico City, Mexico) and a PhD (2007) from Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, USA). His academic work focused on numerical optimization applied to spacecraft trajectory design.
Upon concluding his PhD, Juan joined McKinsey & Company as a management consultant, where he served clients in various industries, including automotive, oil and gas, banking, and local government. In 2009, Juan left McKinsey to pursue his life-long dream of working for NASA; he joined NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
From 2009 through 2012, Juan served JPL as a Navigation Engineer with the Flight Path Control Group, where his responsibilities included the design, analysis, and optimization of orbit trim maneuvers for the Cassini Spacecraft. In 2012, he transitioned roles and became a Mission Design Engineer with the Outer Planet Mission Analysis Group, where his responsibilities included the design of trajectories for Europa Clipper, NASA’s upcoming mission to Europa.
In 2016, Juan left JPL and founded Nabla Zero Labs.