The engineer who became a leader — and never stopped engineering.
Most engineers start their career after college. I started mine in high school, when NASA came calling.
I was recruited by NASA Langley as a high-school apprentice in 1999 — and I've been building ever since.
- 1999
- NASA Langley apprentice
- 20+
- Years engineering
- 3
- Peer-reviewed papers
- 2
- Companies co-founded
Aerospace and defense through college, a B.S. in Computer Engineering from Florida Tech, then two decades at Northrop Grumman — from a teenage intern to software engineering manager.
The work I'm proudest of came in Atlanta: the data systems behind the CDC's international tuberculosis clinical trials. FDA-compliant, life-or-death data — and three peer-reviewed papers.That's when it clicked: engineering is at its best when it's in service of people.
Since then I've led engineering in fintech and Web3, and today I'm co-founder and CTO of Just Badge and ELITE — still in the code, still building alongside my team.
“An empathetic leader and an engineer's engineer.”
“Calm under pressure — she ensured success through empathy.”
Jessica Kuo · Productfy
From NASA apprentice to CTO.
- 1999
NASA Langley — SHARP Apprentice
NASA Langley Research Center
Recruited into a NASA research apprenticeship while still in high school.
- Degree
B.S., Computer Engineering
Florida Institute of Technology
- 2001–21
Engineer → Software Engineering Manager
Northrop Grumman · 20+ years
From a teenage intern to software engineering manager across defense, asset management, and healthcare programs.
- 2014–18
CDC tuberculosis clinical trials
CDC / Northrop Grumman · Atlanta
Data-development lead on an FDA-compliant international TB drug trial. Three peer-reviewed papers.
- 2021–22
Software Engineering Manager
Productfy · Fintech
Credit-reporting API and white-label banking.
- 2022–23
Head of Engineering
MetaENGINE · Web3
Built and staffed a Web3 game-engine team from zero.
- 2022–now
Co-Founder & CTO
Just Badge
Founding technologist; self-funded R&D lab, product, engineering and marketing service provider.
- 2026–now
Co-Founder & CTO
ELITE
The Carfax for Talent — a privacy-first work-intelligence platform powered by VERA.
Proof, not adjectives.
Peer-reviewed papers, institutional honors, and the credentials behind the work.
Peer-reviewed publications
- 01
Central monitoring in a randomized, open-label, controlled phase 3 clinical trial for a treatment-shortening regimen for pulmonary tuberculosis
Contemporary Clinical Trials · 2021
- 02
Optimizing drug inventory management with a web-based information system: the TBTC Study 31/ACTG A5349 experience
Contemporary Clinical Trials · 2021
- 03
Creation of a customized electronic data and study management system for an international clinical trials consortium
APHA Annual Meeting · 2016
Honors
- SASE Technologist of the Year Nominee
- Quality Is Personal Award
- Timely Award Program (TAP) — ×2
- Performance Award
- BRAVO! Gold Award
Want to build something together?
Whether you need a technical partner who actually builds, or you're working on something that makes lives better — I'd love to hear about it.