PteroDynamics Appoints New Program Manager

Veteran aviation industry program manager and systems engineering team leader Jason Maddocks has joined PteroDynamics, an innovator in autonomous VTOL aircraft, as program manager.

Maddocks will supervise the execution of the company’s growing suite of programs, overseeing the lifecycle of company programs and managing all activities to meet program and business goals in terms of cost, schedule, process optimization, and performance. He will also help scale and lead the company’s flight operations.

A former U.S. Marine Corps attack pilot, lead AV-8B test pilot, and deputy program manager for the AV-8B and V-22 programs, Maddocks has spent the last six years leading teams at Silicon Valley unmanned aerial systems (UAS) startups Zipline and Loon.

PteroDynamics chief revenue officer Richard Brasel, said; “We are very fortunate to bring on board a program manager of Jason’s caliber and level of experience in managing complex programs and leading engineering teams. Interest in our autonomous Transwing® VTOL aircraft is gaining traction across a broad array of commercial and defense sectors, and a seasoned program manager who can oversee a collaborative effort with our strategic partners and customers is key to our continued success.”

Maddocks said; “PteroDynamics is an exciting company, and the Transwing is a truly novel aircraft with great transformative potential. I am thrilled to be working with a talented and supportive team, and I look forward to working closely with our industry partners and customers to realize the Transwing’s full potential.”

Maddocks’ experience spans program management, test and evaluation, systems engineering, and aircraft certification. Prior to PteroDynamics, he was head of operations engineering for UAS logistics company Zipline, was a systems engineering consultant and head of aviation safety with AVIAN for Alphabet’s Loon project, and served as program manager for AVIAN’s UAS geospatial acquisition contracts.

Maddocks was also an instructor with AVIAN for the U.S. Navy’s Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) College of Program Management, and he held senior program management roles in the AV-8B and V-22 program offices while still in uniform. He is a combat-decorated Marine attack pilot, was the lead test pilot for the AV-8B ground-attack aircraft, and is a distinguished graduate of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School. Maddocks earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in aerospace engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy and MIT, respectively.