Jaya Bajpayee

Jaya Bajpayee serves as the deputy director of Exploration Technology Directorate at NASA’s Ames Research Center. She provides executive leadership, strategic planning and direction of NASA’s advanced supercomputing, human systems integration, intelligent systems, and entry systems and technologies. Previously Jaya served as the director of programs and projects, overseeing SOFIA, VIPER, the small satellite technology program and the small satellite virtual institute. Jaya came to NASA Ames in 2017 as the deputy director of science.

Jaya spent nearly 25 years at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center as a project manager, designing and building NASA science missions and NOAA geosynchronous operational environmental satellites. She spent 4 years at NASA Headquarters leading on-orbit operations of astrophysics missions.

Jaya enjoys traveling, meeting new people, and photography. She especially enjoys the calm, magical nature of night photography, saying it makes her feel one with the universe.