Joseph Bondaryk

Joseph Bondaryk, PhD has worked in a variety of positions in the field of robotics since 1998. From 1998-2003, they worked as a Scientist at the NATO Undersea Research Centre. From 2003-2007, they were the Director of Engineering at Bluefin Robotics Corp., where they were responsible for the design and engineering of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), topside equipment, and sub-sea battery products. From 2007-2009, they were a Project Manager at Foster-Miller Inc., where they led a 10+ person design team for a $9M, 4-yr, ONR Large Vessel Stopping Project. From 2009-2016, they were a Project Manager at Google, where they supported a $19M, 3-yr, DARPA Robotics Challenge project. From 2016-2019, they were the Director of Robotics at Toyota Research Institute, where they were the Technical Lead for a 1.5-yr, $15M Product Development effort. Finally, from 2019-2022, they were the CTO at Merlin Labs, where they grew the engineering staff from 2-50 and focussed on the in-flight autonomy of full-size aircraft.

Joseph Bondaryk, PhD obtained their Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1987. Joseph then went on to receive their Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from the same institution in 1988. In 1990, they began their PhD in Oceanographic Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which they completed in 1994. Prior to this, they attended the Boston Latin School from 1978 to 1983.