HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Dr. Rajiv Doreswamy, deputy manager of Program Planning and Control for Ares Projects at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., has been chosen by NASA Headquarters in Washington to participate in the NASA Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program beginning in July.
The Candidate Development Program provides training and prepares candidates for possible entry into the Senior Executive Service — the federal personnel system covering most top managerial and policy positions in the executive branch. He was among 26 Marshall Center employees who applied for the development program. Only 2 candidates were selected.
A 19-year NASA veteran, Doreswamy supervises a staff of 90 information technologists, budget analysts, and communications and engineering management professionals. He has served as deputy manager since January 2008. Previously he served as project integration manager for the Ares Projects beginning in July 2007.
Part of NASA’s Constellation Program, Ares Projects is responsible for developing NASA’s Ares I rocket, which will transport the Orion spacecraft and its crew of astronauts to space, and the Ares V cargo launch vehicle, which will carry payloads to space during missions to the moon and beyond.
“The experiences, training and contacts I will gain in the Candidate Development Program will help me to become a more effective and efficient leader,” Doreswamy said. “This will allow me to make a greater contribution to NASA’s goal of bringing the Ares vehicles on line to support future spaceflight and human exploration.”
From 2006 to 2007, he served on the executive staff of the associate administrator at NASA Headquarters. From 2002 to 2006, also at NASA Headquarters, he served as acting manager of analysis and integration for the Constellation Systems Division, operations officer for Systems Engineering and Integration Source Evaluation Board, manager of Advanced Studies and Systems Analysis, program executive for Space Launch Initiative and space transportation manager for the Office of Aerospace Technology.
From 2001 to 2002, he served as Marshall’s resident manager on the International Space Station program, based at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. He also was the chief subsystems engineer for the International Space Station’s Propulsion Module Project from 1999 to 2001.
Doreswamy began his career at the Marshall Center in 1988 as a power systems engineer on the Hubble Space Telescope and for the Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle. Born in India and raised in Montgomery, Ala., he earned three degrees in electrical engineering – a bachelor’s in 1986 from the University of Florida in Gainesville; a master’s in 1988 from Auburn University in Auburn, Ala.; and a doctorate in 1999 from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
The comprehensive Senior Executive Service candidate curriculum includes classroom work, interagency experience, on-the-job learning, mentoring, coaching, field experiences and Web-based learning with other agency candidates. A core benefit of the program is access to senior White House and cabinet-level personnel who serve as speakers and workshop leaders.
The curriculum will take 12 to 24 months to complete. Candidates must then be certified by the Office of Personnel Management’s Qualification Review Board as meeting the Executive Core Qualifications required for members of the Senior Executive Service. While participation in the Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program does not guarantee selection for a Senior Executive Service position, it does certify those that successfully complete the program as having fulfilled the executive-level requirements for selection.
