Kristi Bradford
Managing Director at Pragmatic Frontiers
Kristi Bradford
Managing Director at Pragmatic Frontiers
Las Vegas Metropolitan Area
Overview
Work Experience
Founder and Managing Director
2022 - Current
Strategic innovation firm, building bridges between stakeholders in the frontier innovation ecosystem. Learn more at pragmaticfrontiers.com
Advisory Board Member
2023
Advised university on ways to improve space technology and systems engineering education to better prepare students for industry.
Part-Time Professor
2024 - 2024
Taught EGG 403X: Introduction to Spaceflight
Lead Mentor | LA, Space, and Healthcare Accelerators
2022
Lead Mentor: Ultraview AI (Spring 2024) Samara Aerospace (Spring 2024) Piersight Space (Fall 2023) Magma Space (Fall 2023) Little Place Labs (Fall 2023) SAFA.ai (Spring 2023) Ad Hoc Mentor: CranioSense (Spring 2024) Akara Robotics (Spring 2024)
Selection Committee | Allied Space Accelerator
2020 - 2022
Evaluated space technology and related companies that applied to the Allied Space Accelerator program to help the Techstars team decide which companies to admit into the program.
Consultant, Technology & Investments
2022 - 2024
Mentored, coached, and supported Associate through Vice President level staff on deal sourcing, diligence, investment memos, technology development program design, negotiations, and closing. Onboarded two space technology leads, providing guidance on strategy development and execution, startup company evaluations, and government partner relationship management. Reviewed and provided feedback on investment memos and statements of work. Conducted research and analysis to support 2 global competitive analyses on the lunar-cislunar ecosystem and agriculture. Drafted blog post on the intersection of agriculture and space technology.
Space Technology Lead
2019 - 2022
Co-led 9 equity-only investments, 6 equity and technology development investments, and 3 large follow-on technology development investments. Supported 5 equity-only international investments. Companies spanned space technologies, sensors, communications, human-machine interfaces, robotics, and unmanned aerial vehicles. Led development and execution of space technology investment strategy based on technology and market research and analysis, engagement with venture capitalists, and needs of the U.S. and allied national security community. Negotiated, drafted, and closed 9 technology development contracts, working across government end users, startup executives and developers, each stakeholders’ legal counsel, and each stakeholders’ budget/finance professionals. Researched, analyzed, and drafted global competitive analysis on space auxiliary services, tech brief on trends in space technology, and blog/podcast series on commercial space to communicate investment activity insights. Reviewed portfolio company board materials and accompanied board observer to select board meetings.
Senior Space Architect
2018 - 2019
Supported the Center for Space Policy and Strategy by authoring papers, supporting other authors through paper idea generation and draft reviews, and collaborating with the Secure World Foundation on the development of a course based on their Handbook for New Actors in Space. Conducted multi-program strategic assessments within the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate (HEOMD) to support the Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) process at NASA Headquarters. Researched, analyzed, and reported on commercial space trends in constellation operations, space situational awareness, weather, and data science to support various US government customers.
Senior Instrument Systems Engineer
2015 - 2018
Senior Instrument Systems Engineer | 09/2017 to 02/2018 Managed multi-national development of an experimental spacecraft payload, including technical oversight, cost, schedule and risk tracking, navigating export control issues, briefing senior officials in the Luxembourg Ministry of Economy, and drafting grant proposals. Assisted executive leadership with strategic planning for opening of Luxembourg office, including project selection, hiring and recruitment, R&D facility development, and schedule planning. Director, Instrument Systems (Acting) | 01/2017 to 09/2017 Managed a team of 7 engineers and scientists: determined project assignments, supported professional development opportunities, acted as team liaison to executive management, led hiring efforts, organized team events, and facilitated mentorship between junior and senior staff. Developed relationships, partnerships, and collaboration opportunities with the asteroid science community, including the asteroid program leadership at major space agencies across the globe. Led spacecraft payload selection, assisted with development of a science traceability matrix, and took part in a mission architecture study for asteroid mineral resource exploration. Managed a team of 12 engineers and scientists to assess the instrument trade space and select payloads. Instrument Systems Engineer | 02/2016 to 12/2016 Led verification and validation of infrared instruments. Oversaw algorithm development, performance modeling, hardware handling, instrument testing, and aerial operations. Assisted with development of hyperspectral infrared instrument concept and contributed to European Space Agency proposal for Luxembourg payload on the Asteroid Impact Mission. Co-op Engineer | 01/2015 to 08/2015 Conducted assembly, integration, and test of infrared space instruments and spacecraft star trackers. Handled anomaly investigations, root cause analyses, and developed rework plans.
Instrument Systems Analyst
2013 - 2015
Analyzed the engineering and scientific implications of planetary protection policy on a Enceladus sample return mission concept and investigated sample collection strategies to address it. Supported science traceability matrix development for an Enceladus sample return mission concept. Analyzed the scientific potential of a 0.5U CubeSat as a carry-on spacecraft for missions to near Earth asteroids. Designed compact penetrometer for 0.5U CubeSat architecture to study thermo-mechanical properties of asteroid regolith. Developed new analytical method for isotope ratio analyses based on laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy to enable in-space bone health monitoring of astronauts.
Instrument Scientist
2012 - 2013
Developed two electronic readout systems for millimeter-wave kinetic inductance detectors. Designed and built a broadband noise source for calibration and characterization of mm-wave kinetic inductance detectors. Assisted with setup of new university laboratory, which included procurement of test equipment for electronics development, setup of Electrostatic Discharge (ESD)-safe environment, and selection of desiccated storage solution.
Research Assistant
2011 - 2012
Designed and fabricated a field-deployable rotating polarized source for precision characterization and calibration of Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) polarimeters at the South Pole. Developed new fabrication technique for Keck Array cryostat vacuum windows to increase reliability. Assisted with integration and test of filters, lenses, and mechanical structures for mm-wave telescopes. Conducted transmission and reflection testing on quasi-optical materials to inform instrument performance models.
Research Assistant
2010 - 2010
Developed a method for estimating the metal content of M-Dwarf stars using infrared photometry to assist exoplanet observation planning and increase exoplanet discovery efficiency.