Jeff Shaddix is the Director of Sensor Development for Slingshot Aerospace, a cutting-edge technology company improving space safety and optimizing orbital operations. The company is driven by its vision of accelerating space sustainability to create a safer, more connected world.
Jeff focuses on leading a high-performance team innovating sensor solutions for space surveillance and tracking. Jeff is an experienced engineer and leader who has designed, developed, and deployed numerous optical sensor and image processing systems across ground-based and space-based platforms. At Sandia National Laboratories, Jeff designed algorithms and software for space-based programs, gaining expertise in navigation, star trackers, radiometry, and image processing. He also led a team of 25+ multidisciplinary members in the technical vision, design, development, and operational transition of a novel object detection, tracking, and reporting system for a mission-critical remote sensing application.
At Numerica Corporation, Jeff was the principal investigator and primary patent author for the development of its ground-based, daytime-capable infrared telescope systems for tracking space objects from low Earth orbit (LEO) to geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO). He now continues sensor development work at Slingshot Aerospace, leading a team in the pursuit of revolutionary optical sensor systems for tomorrow’s challenges in space object tracking.
A hobbyist photographer and astrophotographer on the side, Jeff is passionate about the full sensing chain at work and at play: tasking (planning), collection (image capture), processing (calibration), exploitation (development), and dissemination (publishing). He believes every link in the chain must be done with excellence to create high-value output products. Jeff Shaddix holds both Masters and Bachelors degrees in Electrical Engineering from Texas A&M University.
