Dr. Robert F. Hodson is an engineering consultant and technical advisor specializing in aerospace avionics, fault-tolerant architectures, and mission-critical embedded systems. Leveraging over four decades of combined leadership across NASA, industry, and academia, Dr. Hodson partners with commercial space ventures, defense contractors, and technology developers to solve their most complex avionics reliability and safety challenges.

Consulting & Technical Advisory Services

• Fault-Tolerant Architecture & System Reliability: Designing robust electronic hardware and real-time software systems capable of operating reliably in harsh, high-consequence environments.
• Independent Technical Review & Risk Assessment: Providing objective, deep-dive technical evaluations, failure mode investigations, and architectural risk audits for spaceflight and aerospace programs.
• Commercial Spaceflight Integration: Advising private space enterprises on avionics qualification, human-rating standards, and agency compliance across launch and orbital platforms.
• Simulation & Real-Time Embedded Systems: Architecting high-fidelity hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulators, flight simulators, and mission-critical sensor/control systems.
• Executive & Engineering Mentorship: Delivering specialized workshops, engineering leadership guidance, and curriculum development for advanced technical teams.

Professional Background & Experience

NASA (24 Years)

Served as NASA Technical Fellow for Avionics, leading the agency’s highest-priority avionics challenges and heading the Avionics Technical Discipline Team across NASA centers, industry partners, and academia. Previously served as Chief Engineer for the Space Technology Mission Directorate’s Game Changing Development Program, Deputy Chief Engineer for NASA Langley Research Center, and Chief Engineer for Langley’s Electronics Systems Branch. Spearheaded technical solutions for flagship programs, including:

• Hubble Space Telescope
• Orion Spacecraft & Space Launch System (SLS)
• International Space Station (ISS)
• Commercial Crew Program (Boeing Starliner and SpaceX Crew Dragon)

Academia (13 Years)

 Associate Professor and Director of the Computer Engineering Program at Christopher Newport University, leading sponsored research alongside NASA, the Department of Defense (DoD), and the Department of Energy (DoE).

Industry Engineering

Designed real-time hardware and software for F-16 flight and radar simulators at General Electric, and served as Senior Software Scientist for JDH Technologies.

Selected Honors & Education

• NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal 
• NASA Exceptional Service Medal 

Recipient of more than 20 NASA and industry technical performance and group achievement awards.

Education

• Ph.D. in Computer Science – Florida State University
• M.S. in Computer Engineering – University of Central Florida
• B.S. in Electrical Engineering & B.S. in Computer Science – University of Connecticut