Romae Young holds a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park, and an M.S. in Business from Johns Hopkins University. Her distinguished career spans decades of technical and leadership roles across NASA, the Department of Defense, and the private sector, including positions in both industry and the federal government.

Romae began her career in space operations at Ford Aerospace, where she served as a spacecraft engineer, power subsystem engineer, and orbit adjust engineer for NASA’s sun-synchronous satellites. She later joined the Computer Sciences Corporation, where she spent several years as a Flight Dynamics Mission Manager for Expendable Launch Vehicles, including supporting the Space Shuttle program.

Mid-career, Romae joined The Boeing Company, where she led research and development initiatives in support of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA). Her work included pioneering efforts on space-based radar systems and contributing to the development of the nation’s first long-range Ballistic Missile Defense Systems (BMDS).

Romae returned to NASA as a civil servant, serving as the Deputy Manager for Conjunction Assessment Risk Analysis (CARA). Leveraging her expertise in the Conjunction Assessment Tool (CAT) and Satellite Tool Kit (STK), she conducted critical analysis for the MAVEN mission, assessing potential impacts to the Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer (NGIS) instrument in the Martian atmosphere.

Her career later shifted toward technology development and strategic planning. As part of the NASA Goddard’s Office of the Chief Technologist, she led the implementation of key agency-wide initiatives such as TechPort and the Space Technology Fellowship Program. She also led a study on orbital debris mitigation and contributed to a concept that adapted NASA’s ground-based laser ranging systems to detect, track, and characterize orbital debris.

In 2022, Romae became the Associate Branch Head of the Flight Software Systems Branch, helping to manage a team of approximately 100 engineers. She brings to this role extensive experience in strategic planning, cross-agency collaboration, and systems engineering leadership.

Romae is a published author of several technical papers on ground-based laser tracking of orbital debris and on the incremental development approach for missile defense systems. She presented her work internationally, including at the 5th International Conference on Missile Defense in Prague, Czech Republic.

Throughout her career, Romae has received numerous accolades, including technical honors and the prestigious Robert H. Goddard Award. She has also contributed to the advancement of women in engineering, serving on the board of the University of Maryland’s Women in Engineering Program.