Pratik Saripalli

Pratik Saripalli has a range of work experience in the aerospace and software development fields. Pratik currently works at AST SpaceMobile as the Senior Director of Software, where they manage and leads both the Flight Software and Ground Software divisions for current and future missions. Pratik is responsible for architecting, developing, and testing Flight Software on embedded processors using RTOS. Additionally, they have designed Ground Software infrastructure and acted as the primary representative for core software between various disciplines and subsystems. Prior to this role, Pratik worked at AST SpaceMobile as the Head of Software Development, where they performed similar responsibilities.

Before joining AST SpaceMobile, Pratik worked as a Senior Flight Software Engineer and Technical Lead at AST SpaceMobile. In this role, they built and led the core flight software group, developed embedded software for ARM microcontrollers, and provided hardware and software support.

Pratik's work experience also includes being a Graduate Researcher at the University of Maryland's Space Power and Propulsion Laboratory and an Extern at the USPTO's Office of the Chief Economist, where they focused on using machine learning modules to analyze patent applications. Pratik has also held positions as a Harriet Jenkins Graduate Fellow and a Summer Intern at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

Pratik Saripalli has an extensive education history in the field of Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering. Pratik earned their Bachelor's Degree from the University of Maryland in 2012. Following that, they pursued a Master's degree at the same university from 2012 to 2015. Continuing their academic journey, Pratik completed a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) at the University of Maryland in 2019.