Christina Kneis Wolfenden
Driving product and project success through systems thinking, technical rigor and operational excellence
Systems Thinking & Lifecycle Ownership
Solve the right problem. 10 years developing deep context and owning requirements, architectures, implementation, testing, and iterative operational improvement for mission-critical NASA systems.
Technical Rigor & Depth
Solve it well. Hands-on fluency across hardware, software, infrastructure, data analysis, development, operations, and cloud. Data-driven decisions with traceability from requirements to test.
Operational Excellence & Delivery
Deliver results. Building trust and momentum across technical teams, leadership, and customers. Clear choices and tradeoffs that keep programs moving.
Experience
Senior Product Manager, Collection & Capacity
Imagery Products, Enabling Services- Own satellite collection orchestration and capacity planning across all missions, optimizing scheduling logic, throughput, and prioritization to align with business priorities.
- Drive efficiency in collection logic to align with and fulfill customer demand across tasking and monitoring missions.
- Lead feasibility studies for commercial planning, providing data-driven insights to shape strategic decisions.
- Collaborate cross-functionally with Missions, Systems, and Tasking teams to scale Planet's global imaging product offering.
Lead Mission Operations & Ground Data Systems Engineer
INCUS Cubesat Constellation- Defined & owned mission operations and data system requirements, translating them into system designs, ops workflows, mission planning strategies, timelines, and executable procedures.
- Led cross-functional delivery across engineering, software, and planning teams to ensure requirements are fully realized in system design, execution, and testing.
- Owned the architecture and delivery of the AWS GovCloud Ground Data System (GDS), with traceability to safety-critical requirements controlled through Terraform IaC.
Ground Data Systems & Cyber Security Engineer
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO)- Owned day-to-day operational readiness of ground systems, including risk-based maintenance prioritization and fault-tolerant configuration design.
- Led the end-to-end process to maintain Authorization to Operate (ATO): drove NIST 800-53 documentation, gathered inputs across software, infrastructure, and ops, and guided stakeholders through reviews and approvals.
MIMU Data Analyst & Operational Subject Matter Expert
NASA Engineering & Safety Center- Authored two studies on long-term IMU behavior and failure mechanisms (one public, one NASA-internal). See publications below.
- Built and maintained reliability models to estimate component lifetime, failure probability, and risk thresholds for ring laser gyroscope MIMUs.
- Advised flight projects (MRO, ODY, OCO-2, SMAP) on MIMU health and risk, using data-driven risk analysis to turn telemetry into clear operational decisions.
Mission Operations Systems Engineer
Europa Clipper- Developed, standardized, and maintained the spacecraft parameter update process, ensuring consistent and efficient implementation across mission phases.
- Designed the systems telemetry display, synthesizing data from across teams to support rapid spacecraft health assessments, fault detection and anomaly response.
- Led cross-team coordination for onboard activities and supported real-time console ops.
Mission System Manager
Lunar Flashlight- Led end-to-end mission operations during Lunar Flashlight's flight, through a persistent propulsion anomaly, using real-time fault analysis, risk assessment, and contingency modeling to redesign how the spacecraft was flown while protecting mission safety.
- Successfully demonstrated the novel green propulsion technology and all other L1 technology and science objectives despite the anomaly.
- Validated science instrument performance metrics and data quality, ensuring the mission delivered scientific value despite propulsion constraints.
Spacecraft Systems Engineer
Mars 2020 Rover- Owned real-time rover operations across launch, cruise, EDL, and surface (living on Mars time!), coordinating commands, telemetry analysis, and anomaly response to protect vehicle safety and mission objectives.
- Shaped core operations workflows, such as refining the parameter update process and analyzing parallel onboard activities in support of NASA's first-ever attempt at robotic automation on another planet.
- Developed automation tools to support rover operations & flight software updates including scripting automated downlink telemetry tools and automating regression testing of flight software behaviors.
Mission Operations and Ground Data Systems Engineering Team Lead
NEA Scout- Built ground data pipelines and telemetry tools; owned VM setup and inter-organizational data flows.
- Authored and certified key ops docs (ICDs, CONOPs, ops handbooks) and coordinated multi-org testing, ensuring end-to-end requirements traceability and verification coverage.
- Managed subsystems (science, MDNAV, PDS) and served as a general liaison between JPL and MSFC for mission operations and ground data systems engineering.
Spacecraft Operations & Payload Systems Engineer
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO)- Ensured spacecraft health and performance by generating and uplinking command products and analyzing downlinked telemetry for trends and anomalies; led investigations and responses when issues arose.
- Improved and automated spacecraft operations processes, including tools and scripts for sequence generation, and automated telemetry trending for anomaly detection and consumables tracking (Python, Perl, MATLAB).
- Coordinated across subsystem engineers, science teams, and operations to execute special activities and meet mission objectives.
Early Career
Software Development Intern
Mars Sample Transfer Testbed (MSTT) - NASA JPL- Developed robotic mast camera control module (C, XML) with inverse kinematics and collision avoidance logic.
Lead Research Assistant
CRAFT 3D Printing Research Laboratory - USC- Contributed to the mechanical, electrical and computational design of a Metal and Ceramic Zero Gravity Selective Separation Sintering 3D Printer project funded by NASA and the National Science Foundation.
Education
Publications
- Kneis C.M. et al. (2024). Long Term Behavior of Miniature Inertial Measurement Units Onboard Extended Mission Mars and Earth Orbiters. Advances in the Astronautical Sciences, vol. 179, Springer.
- Cohen, B. A., et al. (2024). Lunar Flashlight science ground and flight measurements and operations using a multi-band laser reflectometer. Icarus, 413.
- Dennehy, C., et al. (2022). Miniature Inertial Measurement Unit (MIMU) Operational Life Investigation. NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) Technical Assessment Report.
Skills & Tools
Programming & Scripting
Cloud & DevOps
Systems Engineering
Operations & Leadership
Product Management
Awards & Recognition
Recipient of multiple NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Voyager, Team, and Group Achievement awards recognizing leadership, dedication, and outstanding engineering contributions across various missions.
Europa Clipper Mission System Re-Architecture
"For accepting the challenge of the changing needs of the Clipper project and stepping in to support the re-architecture of the mission system."
NASA Jet Propulsion LaboratoryINCUS MOS Team
"For diligently developing the MOS plan and gate products and completing the MOS/GDS pre-CDR peer review successfully."
NASA Jet Propulsion LaboratoryMars 2020 Surface Engineering Operations Team
"For group achievement in assessing the health of the Perseverance Rover and building plans to explore the surface of Mars and successfully completing the prime mission."
NASA HonorsLunar Flashlight Mission Leadership
"For leading a flight team that developed new flight system activities and behaviors including hundreds of maneuver attempts in efforts to save the mission during a significant propulsion anomaly."
NASA Jet Propulsion LaboratoryLunar Flashlight Operations Team
"For successfully completing all technology objectives on the Lunar Flashlight technology demonstration mission for STMD."
NASA Jet Propulsion LaboratoryMars 2020 FSW S7.2 Engineering Regression Testing
"For exemplary teamwork completing the S7.2 engineering regression test program which required long hours above and beyond supporting tactical operations."
NASA Jet Propulsion LaboratoryMars 2020 LCAE Mission Operations Team
"For the successful planning, development, and execution of Launch, Cruise, Approach, Entry, Descent and Landing of the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover."
NASA Jet Propulsion LaboratoryMRO Relay Throughput Anomaly Investigation Team
"For outstanding, innovative effort during the investigation of the MRO Relay Throughput Anomaly, resulting in a successful resolution."
NASA HonorsInSight EDL Communications Team
"For outstanding communications support during InSight's entry, descent, and landing (EDL)."
NASA HonorsMaROS Software
"For developing a test paradigm that significantly increased testing efficiency and tracking, paving the way for full automation."
NASA Jet Propulsion LaboratoryMRO Flight Data Analysis
"For Outstanding Engineering Analysis of MRO Flight Data."
NASA Jet Propulsion LaboratoryPhoto Highlights
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